Hotel Wives Club
by TheShadeOps
Summary: [Extended Alternate Universe: Family] When the cat's away, the mice will play, as they say. Follow the (mis)adventures and lives of the wives, girlfriends and children of Task Force 141 while the men are on deployment and back home.
1. The first mistake was lending the car

**Hey guys and girls. This is TheShadeOps coming at you with a fresh idea for all of you peeps.**

 **We've all read stories that focus on the many weird and wonderful antics that the guys of the 141 get up to on their off time; hell, I've written a story about one pair's trip down under!**

 **But we don't get much insight (canon or fandom) into their families. Sure, there are the ship-fics with OCs or between team members, but nothing that's established and that has a focus on them (that I've seen at least.)**

 **This brings me to this story. In my compilation piece, 141 Archives, the last four chapters have been drabbles and experimentations into an "EAU" that I've been working on (that's an Extended Alternate Universe, by the way).**

 **So I bring to you, "Hotel Wives Club", a fic that follows the lives of the 141's wives, girlfriends and children. But don't fret! There will be appearances by the men of the 141 as well; can't have a fic without them, after all.**

 **Hopefully you all enjoy this. I had some fun writing this stuff after all.**

* * *

"So…" The awkward atmosphere was thick as the four teenagers stood around the front of the car, parked in the driveway of one of their homes. "… Rachel… it was nice having you as a sister."

"Yeah Rach, I gotta say, the last few years have been awesome."

"I mean, it's not that bad… it'll buff out." The four of them had just returned from a night at the movies, and Rachel had borrowed her father's car to drive them to and from the cinema. It was on the way out where Rachel had clipped the side of a barrier and left a decent dent and scratch in the front left-quarter panel of the recently-bought Land Rover Discovery Sport. The yellow paint from the barrier stood out against the car's dark blue paint job, the dent almost the size of a baseball and the scratching running for roughly four inches. "At least… I think it'll buff out…"

* * *

"I'm dead…" Was all that Rachel McBride, daughter of sniper Steven 'Archer' McBride, could whimper out as the multiple ways her father would kill her played out in her mind.

"Another bloody Land Rover?" Shade groaned as he set his gear back into his locker, looking exasperatedly at the sniper beside him. "Your last _five_ cars were Land Rovers. Doesn't it get boring?"

"Says the man who's a 'Lancer Loyalist'." Archer shot back with a smirk.

"Yeah, but I don't go out rushing to grab the latest model with all the toys! The one I have still works well, thank you very much, and it's a good four years old. You only had the previous one for just over a year. A year, Arch!" Shade slammed his locker shut and walked over to a nearby bench to sit down on it.

"And yet, you're generally the first one to go out and buy the latest piece of Magpul or Crye kit 'for the sake of having it'. Sometimes you're worse than Jayhawk or Scarecrow." Shade shook his head at the remark and straightened up his civilian attire. The team had been given the weekend off, though a few select operators had stayed behind until late before leaving. Shade and Archer were among those few, spending a bit more time on the range to hone their accuracy with unfamiliar weapon systems; Shade had taken Archer's M24 for a spin while Archer used Shade's customised F88SA2. Needless to say, they had a lot of practise to go.

"Whatever, whatever… so, you know how the kids went out to a movie?" Shade spoke up, checking his phone as the two of them made their way from the armoury to the parking lot at the edge of the base.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Looks like Kel is getting a little too close to Jayhawk Junior…" Shade turned his phone around to show a self-taken picture of Kelly and Jayhawk's son, Andrew', sitting side-by-side outside of the cinemas. Andrew's arm was around her shoulders, and her head was resting against of his. "And before you say anything, I want it on the record that I am okay with them being friends or even more than friends."

"Then why comment on it?" Archer asked, looking at Shade with a touch of confusion. "If you're okay with it, then why say anything about it that might say otherwise?"

Shade shook his head and sighed in delight. "Because, it means I get to play out the 'overly protective father' fantasy that every man that has a daughter has a right to play."

"… even though that the boy that'd be dating your daughter has a soldier as a father as well, and would probably be more than aware of the cliché that you're trying to enact?" Shade visibly deflated at this statement, and he punched Archer in the shoulder lightly.

"Way to crush my hopes and dreams, Arch…" Shade said as he unlocked his car, a 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer ES, and climbed into the passenger seat. Archer took a seat in the front passenger seat and buckled in. "That's right… you lent the brand new car to the kids, didn't you…"

"Of course I did." Archer scoffed. "Need I remind you whose daughter wrote off a car not too long ago? Plus, you and I have both seen the death-trap that Andrew drives. So of course I'd lend a brand new car, with all the latest safety features, to our children. At least I'd know they're safe."

"I'm not worried about the kids, Arch…"

* * *

Shade and Archer pulled up outside the latter's house to find the four children standing around outside the garage. No sooner had Archer stepped onto the front lawn was he under assault by two pairs of arms. Rachel and Charles, a set of twins that Archer was fortunate to be blessed with, wrapped their arms around his chest in a discomforting show of affect for kids of their age. "Hey Dad," they chimed in sync, "glad you're back home."

"How was work, Daddy?" Rachel started with a sickly sweet voice and a fake smile. Shade glanced over to Kelly and Andrew, who were watching the scene unfold with unconvinced expressions. He wandered over slowly and greeted them.

"… what happened?" He asked simply, and Andrew stepped aside to reveal the damage done to Archer's brand new car. "… well then." Shade looked back other to the sniper and his twins, then back at the car. "Who was driving?"

"Rachel was." Kelly answered, shaking her head. "I was in the front seat; the boys were in the back."

"Okay. Fifty on Rachel being grounded; one hundred that Archer uses her for target practise." Shade said simply, looking at the damage. "And an extra ten on Charlie being reamed for not being the driver."

"Yeah… as much as I want to stick around and watch the fireworks, I'd feel much safer if I was back home." Andrew said, straightening up his jacket. "Mind if I get a lift, Mister Williams?"

"No problem Andy, and how many times have I told you that it's Tom or Shade. 'Mister Williams' is my Dad." Shade chuckled as he led the two teens down to his parked car. "Hey Arch, see you on Monday!" He called out with a wave.

The British sniper's screams could be heard from the end of the street.

* * *

 **Poor Archer... I think a few readers out there can relate to this: I did the same thing with my Mum's car. Though it was against the wall of a KFC, leaving a drive through. I didn't get in too much trouble, thankfully, as it was an old-ish car anyway... my damage just added to pre-existing dents and stuff that was there.**

 **Again, let me know what you think, and if you have ideas for the next chapter(s), don't be afraid to leave them in a review.**


	2. Who we fight for

The room was quiet save for the soft droning of the television set that sat upon their drawers opposite the bed. Both of the bed's occupants were focused intently on the scene playing out in front of them; a flag being folded above a polished wooden casket as the sound of gunshots rang out through the cemetery.

Sergeant Matt Graves, call sign 'Scarecrow', had attended many a military funeral in his time with Delta Force; that number rose dramatically upon his arrival to Task Force 141. Yet, that particular aspect of service was something that he kept shielded away from his wife, Skye. Nine years younger than him, she still had that slight touch of innocence and naivety that was so endearing and so underserved of a soldier like him. Yet, the two of them had become inseparable since the night they had met. Engaged after six months of dating, married after another six, and now quietly celebrating their fifth anniversary in their rented apartment near the base.

Skye was no stranger to the military though; having a father who served during the first Gulf War exposed her to the risks that military service comes with. But she still kept positive throughout all of the hardships: Matt being called away at a moment's notice with no guarantee that he'd return; the lonely nights in a cold bed whilst he was sleeping in a bombed out building on the other side of the world; the moments of isolation when she couldn't tell her own friends or family about what was wrong as she had to keep his profession a secret.

Because of times like those, she resolved to enjoy every moment she could with Matt.

"I know what you're thinking..." Matt says quietly, pulling her into a sideways cuddle under the covers as the funeral scene ended and the credits began to roll. "And I understand how you feel... but know that every time I pull my uniform on, I'm doing my damnedest to come home to you safe and sound."

The words make her heart flutter, the same fluttering she felt when he was stood at the alter in his Army Class A uniform. Turning her head to face him, she smiled. "I know... that wasn't what I was thinking though..." To this, Matt raises an eyebrow. He was about to question her but was interrupted by a pair of lips pressing against his. They kissed for a good minute, before she pulled away slowly.

Matt smirked a little bit, and pecked her on the lips before whispering to her. "I think I understand now..."

* * *

Holly Brent looked ridiculous. That was the only way she could be described right now; the woodland-patterned tactical shirt she was wearing looked more like a dress on her, with the bottom of the torso running down to her knees and her hands well and truly covered by the long sleeves. The boots on her feet made her feel like a giant, as did the helmet that covered her brown eyes and wavy blonde hair.

"You almost look the part, you know." An amused voice spoke up, and Holly nearly tripped over herself as she turned to find the intruder. Standing in the doorway of his bedroom was the owner of the shirt, boots and helmet. Senior Airman Nick "Chemo" Brent walked over and crouched in front of his daughter. He looked her up and down, before chuckling and retrieving a plate carrier from his wardrobe. It was one of his lighter and smaller ones, and he made sure to remove the heavy armour plates before slipping it over his daughter's head and onto her relatively small frame. Standing back to admire his handiwork, he laughed. "Now you're ready to rock. What time is it, soldier?" He asked her, and she snapped to attention with a grin on her face.

"Dinner time, sir!" She said, stifling a giggle at her Dad.

"Correct. And what do we do at dinner time?"

"Uh… eat, sir?" She hesitated before answering, and Chemo leant down and gave her a mock-stare of disappointment.

"Wrong, soldier. We clean up ourselves and wait at the dinner table patiently." He broke into a loving smile and pulled the helmet off of her head. "Now come on, let's get you out of Daddy's clothes and into the dining room before Mommy has a fit." He helped her out of the vest and shirt, letting her take the boots off before taking her hand and walking her out of his bedroom.

Her mother, and Chemo's wife, Caitlyn, stood in the kitchen and had stopped preparing food in order to listen in on the interaction between father and adoptive daughter. Holly wasn't biologically his, but the small stuff like DNA did not deter Chemo from treating her like one in the slightest. The first few months of her life with the young girl were rough, as her real father had walked out on the pair of them shortly after Holly had been born. It wasn't until Caitlyn had met Chemo that her life, and by extension Holly's, had turned around for the better.

And she was determined to keep it that way.

* * *

"So, I was thinking that we keep the roses as decoration along the aisle, and then have them transition into tulips and lilies upon reaching the alter. What do you think, baby?" Emily Porter's smile was infectious; so infectious that sniper/spotter Sergeant Todd "Toad" Cane could not find it in him to not smile back, despite the fact that they'd been wandering around the greenhouse for the better part of an hour now. Their big day grew closer and closer as the days ticked by, and with each day Emily's enthusiasm grew and grew. Yesterday was a preliminary cake taste-testing, and the weekend before was spent looking for a venue to host the reception.

Thankfully, a small and short mission had spared him having to go through sorting out the seating plan for the reception a few weeks back; a fact that Emily begrudgingly accepted. It was her choice to marry into the role of a 'military wife.' Something that one of his team member's wives had said upon news of their engagement still floated around her head whenever he was called away for business.

 _"You don't only say 'I do' to the man…."_

When she asked for an explanation, all she received was a hug and a "you'll see" in return. And she was starting to see, alright. It had been late at night a month and a half ago, around 11pm, when her fiancé walked through the door. She got up to berate him for being out so late, before remembering that he was due to return the following day. The team had returned early and postponed the debrief for later, allowing them all to return home and get some much needed rest. He was practically dead on his feet when she had walked up to him and embraced him, the scathing remarks about 'being out on the town' all but a distant memory.

Emily was also learning about the risks and responsibilities that come with being the partner of a soldier. It was a month after being engaged when she was off on her lunch break during the day. She was in line at a Subway when her phone started going off, the ID on the screen being one of the many other wives and girlfriends she had befriended.

"Oh hey Toni, how ar-" She started only to be cut off by an accented woman's voice.

"Emmy, there's been an accident at the base. A few of the boys are hurt, but they'll all live. I wanted to let you know before anyone else tells you otherwise or before you hear otherwise." It was Archer's wife. Toni was one of the first girls she met after meeting Toad. Toni said that it was natural, and an unspoken rule, to meet the wife of your partner's 'battle buddy'.

"What exactly happened?" Emily fought to keep herself composed, but the mere thought of Todd being hurt shook her to her core.

"Shelby's not telling me much, but from what she told me, it's only minor injuries. Her hubby took most of the damage, apparently, and he's only got a few moderate cuts and abrasions."

"Uh huh… and what about-"

"Toad's fine," Toni cut her off again, using Todd's call sign as the rest of the wives tended to do. "He's a little shaken from it, but nothing's missing or damaged. I'll text you if there are any major developments."

"Right… right, thanks Toni." Emily said with a sigh of relief as she hung up the call. She hadn't noticed that she was shaking slightly until she tried to put her phone back in her purse.

 _"… you say 'I do' to his job, the unit, and all the risks that it entails as well."_

 **Nothing like some fluff and mild feels mixed in. So far, reception to this has been somewhat good. Nothing negative (yet), and I aim to keep it that way.**

 **There might be a few short story arcs that will come with later chapters, but the first four or so are mainly to establish characters and setting.** **Anyway, thanks for reading! Until next time!**

 **\- TSO**

 **PS - For any talented artists out there, I really wanna see fanart of Holly Brent wearing her Dad's (Chemo) woodland camo G3 shirt, MICH 2000 helmet and boots. Preferably while she's riding on Chemo's shoulders. The mental image just makes me want to die from cuteness and fluff overload. I picture her as being 10-12 years old: young enough to still be childish, but old enough to have an idea of what her Dad does for a job.**


	3. The Club

**Three chapters in three days. I haven't been this productive since I first released "The New Arrivals" all those years ago.**

 **Such is the perks of finishing University for the year and having a bucket load of free time dumped on you.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

"For those that stand by those that stand on the front line!" Shelby Williams toasted, a shot of scotch held high in her hand as the other women around the table chimed in with a 'here here' and a raise of their own drinks. Glasses clinking together, they all took a moment to compose themselves before they all took a sip of or downed their shots completely.

The boys had returned from a mission a few nights ago. Taking advantage of their much needed rest, Shelby had called together all of her friends for a night out on the town. Sure, a few of them were little old to be hitting clubs and bars like their younger counterparts, but they were military spouses! They worked hard enough as it were, so they damn-well earned this night out.

"Christ, Shel! What the hell was that?" Asked Helen through a mild coughing fit. Shelby just chuckled as she took a sip from her scotch-and-coke to help ease the burn of the shot.

"I don't know. I just asked the barty for his recommendation, and got what he said."

"Uh huh... and his recommendation: was it jet fuel or napalm?" Skye said with barely-masked sarcasm. "I'm pretty sure it was one of those two things. Might've been a mix!"

"Of all people, I thought you'd be into that shot-taking thing. Em seems to be doing fine!" Shelby gestured over to the other relatively-young woman. Emily looked to be dazed, her eyes that little bit glassed-over. Frowning, Shelby leant over and shook her gently. "Emmy, are you alright?"

Emily snapped from her state and looked at Shelby with a lazy smile. "I'm not alright. I'm all-left." She chuckled as the other women either laughed or groaned."

"Shite, she's not even married yet and already she's behaving like Todd. No bloody wonder they fell for each other." Toni said with a sigh, more than familiar with the poor jokes that her husband and his friend made on a regular basis.

"Well, we're cutting her off for now. She needs a bit of a break from the hard stuff." Helen spoke up, making sure to pull Emily's half-finished drink out of reach.

"Hey Toni, how's Rachel doing? Has Steve put her in front of the target yet?" Sarah asked. Sarah Weston was one of the newest additions to the small group of friends, though both Shelby and Helen had known about her existence for months prior to actually meeting her. Both their husbands, Shade and Jayhawk, had been going on about Royce's 'secret girlfriend' that he had been seeing for a while. They were constantly speculating about who she was and what she was like, but it wasn't until Royce's birthday when they had actually met her.

Imagine their surprise when they find out that it was Specialist Sarah Weston from the 141's in-house medical team. Since then, Sarah was the first point-of-call for all of the other wives or girlfriends whenever one of the boys got hurt and was trying to play off their injuries. And since her induction into their little group, it'd felt as if she'd always been there.

"Well, they're still not talking after he took away her laptop and any non-schooling internet access. He also gave her an old phone capable of texting and talking only." Toni responded, referring to the punishment that Archer gave their daughter for damaging his brand new car. "Poor Charlie is the go-between for them."

"That's rough, but then again if Kelly did something like that I'd punish her similarly." Shelby said, getting a few agreements with her. "She's lucky the car she wrote off was an old one that wasn't valued at much. Plus, she paid her own excess, which was good..."

"Lucky girl... has she replaced it yet?" Sarah asked, leaning over a little so she could hear over the noise of the bar.

"Not yet. She's taking public transport and getting lifts from Andy for the time being." Shelby sighed, her thoughts running to the fact that Kelly and Andrew were getting _really_ close to each other. With another sigh, she looked at her phone and saw that they were approaching close to two o'clock in the morning. "Alright ladies… I think I speak for everyone when I saw that the first meeting of the 'Hotel Wives Club' was a success, and that we call it a night. Everyone got their way home organised?"

A murmur of affirmatives rang around the table, and Shelby slowly got to her feet and walked over to assist Emily to hers. The poor girl was a breeze away from falling to the floor, and Shelby made sure to keep herself steady for Emily's sake. "Come on Em… you can sleep this one off at mine."

"Th-thansh Shel…" Emily slurred, the night's drinks now taking their full effect on her.

* * *

"Alright… and three, and two, and one… and there we go…" Shade said quietly as he and Kelly lowered the passed-out Emily onto their couch. Shelby was fast asleep in bed, and Sarah had crashed onto an inflatable mattress that Shade had the foresight to set up in their living room. With Emily now dozing on the couch, all that was left to do was distribute bottles of water within arm's reach and make sure that buckets and towels were within splash-range.

Shade turned to his teenage daughter, Kelly, and shook his head.

"Make sure that you find a guy that'll do the same thing for you and your friends, and ensure that you never let him go, okay?" A muted laugh was his response as he pulled a sheet over to cover Emily up to her arms.

"I wonder who wakes up first…" Kelly whispered as both father and daughter made their way out of the living room.

* * *

Sunlight filtered through gaps in the drawn blinds and landed on the dozing faces of Sarah Weston and Emily Porter. The bright light contrasted against the rest of the living room in which they slept, the darkness assisted by the heavyweight curtains that covered most of the main window on one of the walls.

Slowly, Sarah started to wake only to clamp her eyes shut and groan into the cushion that her head was resting on. The headache was reminiscent of the sound that the helicopters she would hear fly over the base made, except they were amplified by a factor of two-hundred and echoing through her head with painful throbbing.

Blindly she felt around her exposed side and found a bucket and a bottle of water waiting for her. With measured and careful movements, she rolled onto her side and brought the spout of the bottle to her lips and slowly sipped at the coolish liquid inside. Within a few minutes, she started feeling capable enough to sit up. However, she moved too quickly, and in no time at all found herself spilling her stomach into the bucket beside her.

"Good morning," spoke a voice from the entry to the living room. Once she was finished, Sarah looked up to find a smirking Australian soldier leaning against one of the walls in the entrance. "Looks like you had a hell of a night, Westie."

"Bite me, Sha-ugh" Her retort was cut off by another wave of nausea, and Shade couldn't help but chuckle at her misfortune. He was sympathetic; Sarah usually was the first responder to the aftermath of whatever parties and drinking games the guys held on the base. But he could not help but feel amused at the role reversal that was taking place at this moment in time.

"Let me know when you're done there… and try not to wake Emily up either. I'll bring the Berocca and painkillers to you in a few minutes."

* * *

 **Can confirm that the mix of Berocca and a strong headache painkiller/reliever the night before you sleep off the drinking will work wonders.**

 **After the fact, well, there's really only so much you can do to fight a hangover. I learned that after my 20th birthday the hard way.**

 **Until next time!**


	4. Plans

**Just a quickie that I wrote in my head during work today. Just a reminder that not all of these fic-lets are in chronological order.**

* * *

"Come on Andy, just man the hell up and ask her!" Charles McBride shoved the older boy in the shoulder as they sat at a Mexican restaurant, Charles eating a burrito while Andrew picked away at a plate of nachos. "If you don't, then some other guy's going to take the shot and you'll end up regretting it."

"Your dad's mannerisms aside; I'm not even sure if she likes me that way. Yes, we're good friends, but I don't want to fuck that up because I want to move further and she doesn't. It's not something you can come back from easily. Need I remind you about Chloe?" Andrew said, pointing a finger at his friend across the table.

"That, my dear loser, was a different scenario entirely." Charles deflected the comment, not exactly wanting to go into that particular moment of his life. "You and I both know that Kelly Williams is one-of-a-kind. I mean, she's full-bred Australian for one. Two; she has that stunning personality and a body to match. Three…" He trailed off as he desperately tried to find another point to bring up.

"Three; her Dad is a highly-trained special operations soldier who could kill me with a mere flick of a finger." Andrew said glumly as he took a sip from his drink.

Charles shook his head dismissively. "That's just a detail. Three; she probably the realist person you can meet. She doesn't hold back on her emotions or her thoughts, and doesn't back down when she's challenged. And that brings me to point four; she's fiercely loyal to those she cares about. Remember when Miranda was talking shit about her Dad, about a year or two ago?"

"Vaguely… you have to remember I was in the grade above you guys, so I wasn't exactly privy to the inner circle of gossip." Andrew murmured.

"Right, right. Anyway, Miranda was the queen bitch of our grade. Thought she was the top shit or something. She got it in her thick little head that Tom, Kelly's dad, was cheating on her mother with other families. All because of the cover story that Tom had back when the unit were secretive."

"Right, I remember that now. My Dad's was that he was an IT technician for various government departments and was on-call all year around."

"Yeah, and my Dad's was a specialist astronomer that was constantly on demand at various telescopes and stuff. Anyway, because of that story, Miranda thought it was wise to bring up her own conclusion in front of Kelly." Charles scoffed at the thought, chuckling a little. "I think she earned about five stiches in her face along with some scrapes on her arms and hands, as well as a fractured wrist for her efforts."

"Shit, I didn't know that…" Andrew said as he leant back in his seat, taking the information in. "And Kelly?"

"Bruised fists and a one-week suspension. But she also partially blew Tom's cover too. He was the only one available to pick her up and talk to the administration at that time, and they were in the middle of combat training. He rocked up in his full battle kit; turned quite a number of heads."

"Yikes… but yeah, I see your point… Doesn't mean I'm going to make my move though." To this, Charles groaned. He was about to say something when a pair of hands came down from behind him and clasped his shoulders.

"Well, if it isn't Mini-Hawk and the Little Bowman." An Australian-accented voice spoke up from above, and both Andrew and Charles looked up to see the smirking faces of Sergeants Jayson Coper and Gary Sanderson, better known as Rook and Roach.

"Christ guys, you know better than to sneak up on us." Andrew exclaimed through a breath, a little fortunate that his bladder hadn't been full at the time.

"Hey, you're lucky it's us and not Meat and Royce. Not even they know what they'd do if they snuck up on you two and the little bro-mance that you have going on here." Roach said with a smile as he pulled over a nearby chair and sat down between them. "So, Andy. Spill. You've got a one-time offer on Uncle Roach's pearls of wisdom."

Andrew buried his face in his hands at the remarks of the soldier, while Charles laughed at his embarrassment. "I'm trying to convince him to ask Kelly out on a date before someone else does." Both soldiers stopped and looked at Andrew with serious faces after this titbit of information came out.

"Wait," Rook started, leaning forwards a little towards Andrew, "do you mean Kelly as in Kelly Williams, as Shade's little girl? Well, fuck mate… you're playing with some bloody fire there." He shook his head and leant back. "I mean; you've got some real balls if you want to date her. And I don't blame you… mate, what I'd give to be seventeen or eighteen again…"

Roach rolled his eyes as his friend's joke, and patted Andrew on the shoulder. "Look, ignore the prick on your left and listen to me. As long as you don't make it awkward or rush things or do anything like that, you should be fine. I mean, you've known each other for so long, I'm actually surprised that you've waited until now to even consider that kind of step. All I can say is good luck." Roach stood up from the table and signalled for his counterpart to do the same. Andrew looked up at the Brit and offered his hand to him, which Roach took and shook firmly.

"I appreciate the advice… I think I know what I'm going to do…"

* * *

Kelly laid down on her bed with her laptop in front of her, listening to music on her headphones when she felt her phone start to vibrate beside her. Pushing the headphones to hang around her neck, she grabbed her phone to see who was calling and smiled upon reading that it was Andrew on the other end.

"Hey Andy, what's up?" She greeted with a small smile on her face.

 _"_ _Not much Kel… hey, you don't happen to have any plans for this coming Saturday do you?"_ Andrew's voice sounded a little timider than usual, and Kelly crossed her eyebrows in confusion.

"No, I had nothing… why?"

 _"_ _Well, I was hoping that you would like to go out to have dinner and see a movie that night…"_

* * *

Helen Chase made sure to stay out of sight as she eavesdropped on her son's phone conversation in the living room. She had received actionable intelligence from a reliable source (read: Roach and Rook told Jayhawk, who in turn told both Helen and Shade) that her son was going to make an attempt on one Kelly Williams. Now it was just a matter of confirming what the intel had stated, and reporting back to higher chains...

"… so I'll pick you up at five then? Great… I'll see you then, Kel… I'm looking forward to it." Helen put on a neutral face as she walked around the corner.

"Who was that, Andy?" She asked innocently, sitting down on the couch opposite him and reaching for the remote control to turn the TV on. From where she sat, Andrew was making a poor attempt to conceal his reddening face as if he had been busted with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Just some friends, Mom… we're organising a airsoft meetup in a few weekends time. I'll probably be out all weekend; it's going to be a pretty big match." She needed to teach her son how to lie better, because that excuse was pretty poor in her opinion.

"Oh, well, as long as you stay safe and enjoy yourself, that'll be okay." Helen idly retrieved her phone from her pocket, and in a matter of moments had sent a short text message to three of her contacts.

 _To: Hubby, Shelly, Tom._

 _He did it. This coming Saturday. You all owe me ten bucks! ;)_

* * *

 **It is now my Family!AU headcanon that Rook and Roach see themselves as uncles for the kids, even if it's only by association.**

 **And you have to admit it, all parents probably place bets on their kid's romantic lives, especially if they're as closely knit as this group.**

 **Until next time!**


	5. Last Resort

**Just a short one for today, had to get this idea out of my head.**

 **TW: Extreme Cuteness**

* * *

Shade walked through the base with his head on a swivel, hoping to hell that he wouldn't get stopped on his way to his room in the barracks by anyone else. A nervous hand scratched his neck as his other kept a firm grip on the eight-year-old girl that was walking by his side. Kelly was too busy looking around at all the new sights to notice or care that her father was quite anxious.

"Shade!" The call made the veteran soldier freeze in his steps, his heart sinking down into his gut. Of all the people that had to stop him, it had to be _him._ With an awkward smile, Shade turned around to face the bringer of death, easily the most intimidating and downright scariest soldier of the entire task force; Lieutenant Simon 'Ghost' Riley.

"M-morning sir…" Shade stammered quietly, internally bracing himself for an ass-ripping like nothing else.

"Morning in deed… you were meant to be here for training an hour ago. What kept you?" The masked soldier walked over to him, apparently not noticing the small child on Shade's other side. The poor man was trying to think of an excuse when the unthinkable happened.

"Hi! I'm Kelly! What's your name?" Kelly's high voice made Ghost stop dead still, and he leaned around to see the small girl standing beside her father with the sweetest of smiles and widest of eyes. Shade swore he could see Ghost's eyebrows shoot skyward under his balaclava, if the subtle shift of how his sunglasses sat was any indication of any kind of facial expression. To Shade's surprise Ghost stepped around and crouched in front of the girl, and lifted the glasses from his eyes to properly take a look at her.

"My name's Simon, Kelly… Is Shade your Dad?" He asked in a tone of voice that Shade had never thought was possible of existing. When he got an affirmative nod, he chuckled. "He's lucky he's got a cute daughter then. Don't you have school today?"

"School is closed today and Mummy had to start work early today and Daddy has to work today and they can't find anyone to babysit me so Mummy asked Daddy to look after me because she couldn't but Daddy said that he couldn't and Mummy gave Daddy this scary look and then Daddy said that he could take me to work for the day but that Mummy had to come pick me up when she was finished and that's around lunch time." Kelly wasn't the slightest bit out of breath when she finished talking, she stood there in front of the amused lieutenant with a big innocent smile on her face. Ghost stood back up and looked at Shade.

"'Mummy gave Daddy a scary look', right?" Shade swallowed awkwardly at the statement, knowing that he would not be living this particular piece of intelligence down. Ghost looked down at the young girl again, and rested his hands on his hips. "Well, as long as you have fun and stay safe, then I don't see any problems with having you here… Shade, after you've set Kelly up in your room, you and I are going to see the boss."

"Got it, sir…" Shade said with a sigh as Ghost started walking away.

"Bye Simon!" Kelly sang out with a smile on her face as her father led her away to his room.

* * *

"Sergeant Williams, I don't think I need to remind you how dangerous some of the things we do are. It's unacceptable that you brought an eight-year-old child onto this base without prior consultation." Captain MacTavish said as he sat behind his desk. Shade and Ghost were seated on the other side across from him, Shade sweating bullets as the Captain spoke to him. "Not only is it dangerous for her to be here, it's also dangerous for you. I wouldn't want your attention to be diverted from whatever you're doing to go attend to your child."

"Understood, sir, but with all due respect this is an extraordinary circumstance. Shelby was basically halfway through the front door when she told me that Kelly's school was shut and that I needed to look after her. And it's damn near impossible to find a babysitter with so little notice."

"And I understand that, but the least you could've done was give me or Ghost a call so we could arrange something, _anything_ , in the time between you leaving home and you getting here…" MacTavish sighed and rubbed his face, a little but frustrated and annoyed at the entire situation. "Where is the lass now?"

"I set her up with my personal laptop in my room, she has a few games and movies that should keep her occupied until Shelby collects her around midday today." Shade was thankful that he grabbed the DVDs before walking out the door; last thing he wanted to deal with was a bored child today whilst he was working.

"Good… look, for today only, I'm giving you a pass on any major events for today so you can look after Kelly. Now, if she has to leave your room for any reason, she stays by your side at all times." MacTavish crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at Shade. "Now, you have a daughter to attend to. Dismissed."

* * *

"Kelly?" Shade opened the door slowly and peered his head inside to find that both his daughter and the laptop were alarmingly absent from the bed in his room. He stepped inside and searched all through the room to see where she could be hiding from him. Panic started to set in as he ran from his room and made a beeline for the rec room. He entered the room to the sounds of Kelly's laughter mixed with the laughter of soldiers; Kelly, Rook, Meat and Royce were all sat on the couch in front of the TV, watching one of her movies on the screen. Kelly was sat on Rook's lap, as there wasn't any room for her to sit on the couch properly.

"Hey Daddy! Uncle Rook saw me watching Shrek Two on your computer in your room and said that you have a big TV in here and he also said that we could watch it in here with Uncle Meat and Uncle Royce as well! It's really fun and the TV is really big! You should join us!"

"Yes, join us Daddy!" Rook said with a grin on his face as he, Meat and Royce were trying their best not to laugh at both the movie and the look on Shade's face.

"Maybe later sweetheart…"

* * *

 **Headcanon expansion: All of the guys of Hotel Team are considered 'Uncles' by the kids, and the kids are treated like 'nieces and nephews' by the guys.**


	6. Shattered Ends - Part 1

**Double update in 24 hours, what is this madness?!**

 **Jks, I had to build up the fluffy stuff in the last few chapters in preparation to this.**

 **The wonderful (as always) SpitfireUSN suggested that I _don't_ do a chapter on the families' reaction to the events of "Loose Ends" and "The Enemy of My Enemy". I said "That's an amazing idea, here's how I think it'd happen", and that just spiralled into this. So credit goes to her for giving me that plot bunny!**

 **So, enjoy this short chapter arc of what I called "Shattered Ends". I think it'll only be a handful of chapters long, maybe four or five tops.**

 **Don't think it needs to be said, but the only things I own are the original characters and the scenarios that they go through.**

* * *

The last few days had tough. Shelby and the other girls were no strangers to the first week or so after the task force deployed on operations. Yet, this time had been tough. Maybe it was the fact that they left just after the news announced that an American citizen had perpetrated the terrorist attacks in Moscow. Or maybe it was because Russian forces had launched a large-scale offensive campaign against the US, landing and assaulting the major of the eastern coastline. Yes, they were relatively safe where they were; the Task Force was stationed at a base in central Colorado, and most of the other combat teams on station were gearing up to fight on the defensive line as well as establish a second defensive line along the west coast.

The entire situation was tough though. Normally Shade would contact Shelby a couple of days in to say that he was okay and reassure her that everyone was okay. But it had been roughly a week now, and Shade had been abnormally quiet. Even more worrying was that none of the others had heard a peep from their own partners; not even Sarah, who was 'in the loop' with most of the other events and tasks of the unit.

Shelby thought about this as she sat on the couch in their home reading a book with the TV on, a morning breakfast TV show currently on the screen. The house was too quiet for her liking; Shade was who-knows-where, and Kelly had gone out with Andy and the others for a night out. The girl had likely spent the night over at his place.

 _The four black-painted Tomcats streaked across the dawn's sky, the white missiles hanging from their racks glowing in the creeping sunlight. Few on the ground watched as these four fighter jets flew in close formation to an unknown location to their north, the city starting to spur to life beneath them in preparation for another day whilst completely oblivious to the looming danger that was falling out of orbit. "Razgriz One to all planes…" the voice of the flight leader broke across the quiet radio channel as he and his three wingmen flew closer and closer to the large satellite weapon that was slowly falling to the surface. "Target in sight, prepare to engage… it's been an honour flying with all of you."_

A short series of knocks brought Shelby back from the world of StrangeReal, and she got up to walk to the front door. As she passed by a window, she could see a matte-black SUV parked on the street with heavily tinted windows under one of the street lamps. To any normal person this wouldn't have made any difference, but over the years Shelby had learnt from Shade the various ways to identify and asses a potential threat. And the SUV was the first warning sign.

When she got to the door, she peered through the small peephole that Shade had installed upon moving in. On the other side stood two large men wearing plain black battle-dress uniforms, with both a dark subdued US flag and a patch bearing a black rook chess piece on their shoulders.

"Morning gentlemen… can I help you?" She asked, making sure that only half of her body was visible from behind the door. If this was a 'death message', the soldiers would have been wearing full ceremonial uniform and an officer would have been with them as well. These two men looked like grunts, and there wasn't any visible rank insignia anywhere on their uniform.

"Ma'am, we have instructions from General Shepherd to come and collect both you and your daughter and bring you to the base."

"Uh huh… any particular reason?" Shelby asked, both curious and playing for time.

"We're not at liberty to say, ma'am. If you would please get your daughter and come with us, that would be appreciated." The soldier, if he could be called that, was stern and not like any of the regular task force personnel she had the pleasure of meeting in the past.

"Oh, okay then. Allow me to grab a few things then…" Shelby backed away from the door and made to shut it, but one of the soldiers reached out and held the door open. Frowning a little bit, she backed away a little more and turned to walk up the hallway. Casting a glance behind her, she saw that one of the two men had followed her inside. She had half the mind to tell him to get out, but with the way that they were acting it might not be the wisest thing to do.

Shelby walked through the living room just as her mobile phone buzzed. She picked it up saw a message from an unrecognised number. With a small frown, she opened it and read it.

 **** _**BLOCKED NUMBER**_ ** _– 05:59 Today – God, I love you._**

"I need to get my purse from my room, give me a moment, okay?" The soldier grunted and waited in the living room as Shelby walked off. Once she was in, she pulled her phone up and started dialling. The call connected in mere minutes.

* * *

Kelly frowned as her phone started to ring, rolling over with a groan to see who it was. She sighed and pulled the phone to the side of her head. "What is it Mum?"

 _"_ _Kelly. Are you with Andy, Charlie or Rachel at all?"_ Kelly recoiled a little bit in confusion, puzzled by Shelby's leading question.

"I'm at Andy's now with the twins… Mum, it's like six in the morning, what gives?"

 _"_ _Good, wake everyone up and then get Helen. Tell her I just got a text from your father and it said 'God, I love you.' She'll know what to do."_ Kelly froze in fear at that piece of information. When Kelly was old enough to comprehend what exactly her father did as a living, she was made privilege to some of the immediate action plans that her parents had formed over the years. They were contingency plans, covering everything from a rapid deployment, to an extended stay, and even for when either her father or one of his team was killed in action. Some of these overlapped, depending on the context of the message sent.

However, 'God, I love you' was code for one thing, and one thing only. Run.

Scrambling from the couch, she jumped over to Andy and shook him awake. "Andy, get up. We need to get going." Andy was slow to stir, and attempted to fend off Kelly with a weak shove. "Seriously, Andrew. Get. Up." Andy groaned and sat up on the couch he had claimed the previous night.

"Kel.. it's too early…" He complained as he rubbed his face, but he stopped when he saw the worried expression on Kelly's face. "Hey… what's happened?"

"It was Mum… Dad just texted her… we need to get moving…" She said as she stepped over to the mattress where Charles and Rachel were sleeping.

"Kelly, something's wrong… what did he say?" Andy stood up and walked over beside her, watching as she shook Rachel and Charlie away.

"He said 'God, I love you'." There was a moment of silence as those four words sunk in to the teens in the living room. In a matter of moments, Charlie was on his phone ringing his mother whilst Andrew immediately made a move to his own mother's room. Rachel just watched on, and wordlessly wrapped her arms around Kelly, already starting to feel afraid.

* * *

"Alright, alright, I'm coming…" Shelby called out as she tucked her handbag under her left arm and released the safety on the Glock 22 in her right hand. The immediate plan was to gather all of the other wives, girlfriends and the kids then start making their way out of town. To do that though, she would have to get past two of the anonymous soldiers that were in her house on orders by General Shepherd.

To get the message at the same time that Shepherd's men were here was a pretty clear indicator that the good General was not so good at all. As she slowly crept towards the bedroom door, she steadied her breathing and recalled her own time in the Army as well as the many times that Shade had taken her to the range. In particular, she recalled one specific piece of advice that she'd have to use in order to get past the men.

 _Armour can be concealed under clothing, so centre-mass may not make them stop for long. If you're able to, go for either the head or around the groin. Armour generally doesn't go past the waist, and a lower-torso wound can still be lethal. And the head, well, that's self-explanatory._

With one last breath, she peered around the doorway and saw that the soldier had drawn out his own sidearm and had it in his hand but aimed towards the floor. She relaxed a little bit, knowing that she was well and truly justified in what she was about to do. With a final breath, she lifted the sidearm and took aim.

Then fired.

* * *

Andrew was tense. It was hard not to be. He had to make a tough call, and he wasn't sure whether the choice he made was the right one or not.

As soon as he said told his mother about Kelly's message from her Dad, she had gone into what he called 'Soldier Mode'. She started giving instructions in a firm and direct manner whilst retrieving a series of large duffel bags that were hidden in various places around the home. Out of curiosity, Andrew opened one and found a bunch of his clothes, a belt fitted with all kinds of pouches, and a folded sub-machine gun with four loaded magazines.

"Mom, what the hell is all this?"

"It's our contingency plan, Andrew. Kelly's father wasn't the only one with plans like this, you know." And so he helped load the four bags into the back of his father's four-wheel drive. One bag was filled with all kinds of long-lasting food and drinks, another two were clothes, and the last one was a mix of tools, ammunition, and a semi-automatic carbine.

But after loading the car, he realised that Kelly and the twins needed to get back to their place as well. But he couldn't leave his mother alone as well. He was torn: protect his mother or protect his friends and his almost-girlfriend. With a heavy heart he pulled Kelly into a last hug and warned her to be safe, handing her a compact pistol from one of the bags with two magazines for 'just in case'.

Now, he was behind the wheel of the four-wheel drive as his mother made frantic phone calls to the other women.

"Listen, Emily, you need to grab your go-bag and find Skye. I can't get a hold of her at work and she isn't answering her mobile. Once you've got her, you need to get over to the address I'm about to text you, okay?" Helen waited as Emily confirmed her instructions, then continued. "Shelby said to watch for any men dressed in black uniforms with chess-pieces on their sleeves. Stay safe out there, and I'll see you soon." She hung up and leant back against the passenger seat, closing her eyes with a sigh. She looked over at her son, who was clearly stressed out but trying to do his best to keep himself together. "Look, we don't know exactly what has happened, but there has to be a reason for this. Believe me when I say this though: we will get through it, no matter what."

* * *

 **Okay, so, part of my HC is that all of the partners were clued into the details of what their men did, and because of this they each sat down and formulated plans and 'duress' messages for 'just in case'. And it's also part of my HC that the girls all know the basics of using a gun, purely for self defence. And as explained, when the kids were old enough, they too were brought into the fold and told what they did and what to do in case of 'x'.**

 **I see it as these families are very open and don't keep many secrets from each other, mainly because there's no guarantee that the guys are going to live for many more, and it shows just how much they love and trust these women with their lives and their work.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	7. Shattered Ends - Part 2

**Here's part two! Enjoy!**

* * *

Sarah Weston was a busy person on a regular day-to-day basis. Being one of the medical personnel stationed at the home of Task Force 141 was the main reason why she was busy. If she wasn't tending to wounds that were sustained in combat and treated in the field, she was either tending to minor injuries that the highly trained men of the force earned through training or sheer stupidity. If you asked her, it felt like the men hurt themselves more by doing ridiculous and idiotic stuff than in actual combat. Not a day would go by where a soldier would present themselves with a busted hand, or a bruised face, or a snapped fast rope coiled around both of their legs and around their neck.

Pharaoh and Ace still owed her an explanation regarding _that_ particular incident.

But as she sat on one of the examination and treatment tables in the strangely _empty_ medical ward of the base, Sarah couldn't help but feel worried. It'd been a week since the unit deployed both overseas on the hunt for one Vladimir Makarov and to both the western and eastern coasts of the United States to assist in the counter-offensive against the invading Russian forces. Hotel Team, the team that her partner was with, was on the tip of the spear. Last she heard was that they had flown to Rio De Janeiro, as she had to give the team their precautionary shots against tropical diseases.

That was five days ago.

Her phone buzzed on her desk, and she jumped off the table to pick it up and see who was calling. To her surprise, it was Shelby; Shade's wife.

"Morning Shelby, how are you?" Sarah asked, a little bit too chipper for someone who had woken up an hour ago.

 _"_ _All things considered, I'm doing okay."_ Shelby sounded out of breath, she noted. Sarah sat down on the chair by her desk, and leant back in it. _"Are you at work yet?"_

"Yeah, I'm at my desk right now… why?"

 _"_ _You need to get your things and get moving to the drive-in theatre on the south side of town. And if you see any men in black BDU's with chess-piece unit patches, avoid them at all costs."_ The tone of urgency in the older woman's voice set off multiple alarm bells; most alarming was the description of Shadow Company operators. Sarah was no stranger with the private soldiers; they sometimes swung by on training rotations with the Task Force, and often she would have to treat a few of the injured. Compared to the Task Force, Shadow Company was a lot more secretive and had lesser limits in what they can and cannot do.

"You mean Shadow Company? Those guys? What's up with them?" Sarah asked, standing from her desk and collecting her purse from a nearby bench.

 _"_ _Sarah, two of them came to my house, armed, and demanded that Kelly and I come with them to the base. As I was collecting my things, Tom sent me a message saying 'God, I love you'."_

"Oh no… and you got that just after they arrived?" Sarah, by this point, was walking down the hallways and towards the front foyer of the medical block when two Shadow Company troops walked around the corner. "Shit, two of them just walked in… I'll be back in a moment Shel…" Sarah quickly ditched the phone into a pocket on her scrub pants and kept on walking naturally towards the men.

"Specialist Weston, do you have a moment?" One of the men asked, the two of them standing in such a manner that they blocked her immediate path.

"I'm sorry, but I just got a page to the front gate. One of the guards has rolled an ankle and needs some assistance." Sarah lied as she peered over the two men's shoulders.

"If that's the case, shouldn't you be carrying a first aid kit and not your purse?" The other man pointed out, arms folding over his chest.

"I was going to retrieve a wheelchair from storage first, then get the kit, then go help the guard… the storage room keys are in my purse. Now, if you'll excuse me…" She tried to step around them, but the first man grabbed her by the right arm firmly and held her in place.

"Another medic will attend to him… you need to come with us…"

* * *

"Are you alright back there?" Caitlyn looked in her rearview mirror to Holly, who was strapped into her car seat in the back. She smiled back and held her stuffed bunny close. Caitlyn smiled back and then focused back on the road, trying to keep her mind from overthinking the entire situation. It had been Helen that had called her and told her to pack up and head for the drive-in with their go-bags. Putting on a brave face had been a little difficult, as she was trying her best not to panic, but she had to remain strong for her little girl Holly.

A panicked eleven-year-old would only make things worse after all.

Caiti turned onto a main road and merged with the traffic, and for a few minutes everything seemed to be alright. It wasn't until she spotted a pair of black SUVs closing in behind her from a few car lengths away did she start to grow concerned. She pulled off the main drag and drove through a few side streets, randomising her turns to see if they would follow her.

And follow her they did, but not in a manner that she expected. The lead pursuit car would keep going straight after she made a turn, but the trail vehicle would turn and take the lead. Both cars would leapfrog the other, indicating that they weren't easily fooled. This continued until Caiti determined that she needed to get back onto the main road and keep heading towards her destination, a tail notwithstanding.

The sight of a parked police cruiser at a service station she drove past gave her an idea though, and she changed her course to start heading towards the closest police station. Her pursuers didn't realise her intentions until they had followed her into the public parking lot right outside the front of the station, and she made note of how they parked close to the only entrance and exit to the lot. Wasting no time, she climbed out of the car and quickly unbuckled Holly. She also saw through the car window a pair of men disembark from one of two cars that followed her.

Taking Holly's hand, she closed and locked the door and quickly but calmly made her way to the front door, where a pair of patrolman just happened to be walking outside. The sight of the officers gave the two Shadow Company soldiers a moment to pause and rethink their approach, but by that time both Caitlyn and Holly had disappeared inside and into relative safety.

* * *

Kelly parked her car in the driveway beside her father's car and jumped out, running for the wide open front door. "Mum? Are you in-" She didn't finish as she almost tripped over the body of a black-uniformed man in the hallway leading to the living room. "Mum?!" Kelly carefully stepped over it and almost sprinted into her mother's bedroom. There was another body in the living room, and sitting on their bed in the bedroom was a tear-stained and shaky Shelby Williams, a Glock right by her side on the bedcovers. Kelly rushed in and pulled her into a tight hug, which Shelby eagerly returned.

"Oh thank Christ you're okay… how are the others?" Shelby asked as mother and daughter let each other go.

"I… I don't know. Helen and Andy have packed up, and I dropped the twins off with their Mum. Then I drove straight over here. Mum, what happened? Who were those guys?"

"I don't know much as well, just that whatever trouble your father's in is also going to affect all of us. Now, you know the drill, right?" Shelby asked her firmly.

"Yes, my bag's packed in my wardrobe with everything I need…" Kelly said, stealing a glance at the gun on the bed. "… is that Dad's gun?"

"One of them, yes… look, there's not much time. There's a high chance that there are more of those men out there and they'll be coming for not just us, but everyone else too. So the sooner we get away from here and out of town, the better."

"Okay… let's get going then… hey Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Who's car are we taking?"

* * *

Andrew and Helen waited impatiently at the entrance to the abandoned drive-in theatre on the south side of town. Helen was still seated in the front seat, on her phone as she tried to coordinate everyone else, while Andrew stood watch with his father's spare USP tucked in the back of his pants. Helen was initially against him carrying a firearm, but common sense had won out, saying that someone needed to stand guard, and she couldn't hold a gun and a phone at the same time.

"You can relax a little Andy; I just heard from Shelby. She and Kelly are on their way, about ten minutes out."

"Any word from either Miss Porter and Mrs Graves?" Andrew call back, his eyes watching the road leading towards the town. "And what about the twins and Mrs McBride?"

"Emily's got Skye, but they're stuck in some traffic due to a car accident on the western arterial. And Toni's just texted me saying that they're fifteen minutes away, but they're delays as they have to fill up van's tank."

"Right… so that's what, seven now? Who are we missing?"

"Uh…" Helen paused as she ran through the list in her head. "I haven't heard back from Caitlyn, and I think Shelby was talking to Sarah earlier but she went dark. Shelby said that Sarah thinks the people after us are from some group called Shadow Company." Andrew chuckled darkly at the name.

"That's not ominous at all, really."

"Tell me about it… wait, just got a message from Caiti. She's at the southern district police station, said that she had two SUV's following her."

"That's pretty smart, you know." Andrew turned back around to keep watch on the road. A few minutes later, he caught sight of a black SUV barrelling down the road. "Hey Mom! I have sight on a black vehicle, headed for us!" He backed up then ran around so that the front of the car was between him and the incoming vehicle, drawing the sidearm from his back and resting his arms on the hood to use as a stable shooting platform. Helen was out of the car by that point, and had retrieved the small sub-machinegun for the same purpose.

"Wait until whoever it is gets out, and if they start shooting then you shoot right back at them without hesitation." Helen sounded both a mixture of nervous and composed. Andrew nodded in reply as the pair of them watched the SUV turn off the road and drive in to the parking lot.

It pulled up about twenty meters away, and the driver's side door opened. Out climbed a brunette wearing a pair of olive-drab medical scrubs with a few minor bloodstains smeared on the front. Helen and Andrew relaxed at the sight of Sarah Weston, and Helen ran over to pull the younger medic in for a tight hug.

"Why didn't you call?" She asked her as they separated.

"One of the pricks smashed my phone, but I nailed them both with a shot of enough painkillers to put them to sleep. I took their car as there was a third one standing by my car. It sucks because my go-bag was in the trunk." Helen chuckled at Sarah's disappointed sigh. Of all of them, Sarah and Shelby were the closest things to actual soldiers that the group had; Sarah being a base medic and Shelby having served in the Australian Army for a few years prior to meeting Shade.

"That explains why Shelby couldn't get a hold you again."

"Yeah, can you shoot her a message to say that I'm okay?" She said, rubbing her face as the adrenaline started to wear off.

"I think you can tell her yourself," Andrew said as he saw a car barrelling down the road. Andrew recognised it as Shade's car, the midnight blue Evo X was hard to forget after seeing it for the first time a number of years ago. It pulled up beside the stolen SUV and both Kelly and Shelby emerged from it, Kelly from the driver's side with a huge grin on her face.

"I can see why Dad loves this car…" Shelby rolled her eyes at the comment as she walked over to hug both Sarah and Helen.

"Don't get your hopes up. How is everyone feeling?"

"Well, aside from the confusion as to what brought this all on, and why Shadow Company is involved, I'm doing well." Sarah said dryly, leaning against the side of the SUV.

"Same here, though I think we can worry about the smaller details later. Shelby, we're just waiting on Skye, Emily, Caiti and Holly, and Toni with the twins. They shouldn't be much longer than ten or so minutes, though Caiti's holed up at the police station not too far from here. She picked up a tail and went there to try and shake it."

"Smart girl. We might have to swing by and pick her up from there. These men may think they can collect us individually but if we stay together as a group, they might be more hesitant to make a move."

The sound of a car door slamming turned all of the girl's heads. Andrew buckled himself into the front seat of his mother's car and turned the engine on, then turned to face them. "What are we waiting for?"

* * *

Looking through the one-way glass windows at the front of the station, Caitlyn could still see two men standing near her car with another two over by their own vehicles. She had asked to speak to an available officer in order to make a report about stalking but she was told to wait until someone came to speak to her, much like in an emergency room. She was given a clipboard with a form to fill out, and once she had finished it and returned it she sat back down beside her daughter. Every few minutes she would glance at her phone or through the windows, hoping that something would happen.

Her phone buzzed as a message came through, and Caiti hurried to open and read it.

 ** _Shelby – 06:40 Today – Get ready to go. We're almost there._**

Her eyes widened as she comprehended the short message, and she quickly got herself and Holly to her feet. She stormed through the front door and over to her car, the two Shadow Company soldiers nearby moving to follow her. They reached her just as she got to the back seat of the vehicle.

"Mrs Brent, you need to come wit-" Caitlyn spun around and shoved the man away from her, making sure to keep Holly behind her at all times.

"You touch me and I'll scream so loud that every cop inside of there will come running outside." The soldier was about to reply when four vehicles pulled into the parking lot at a decent speed; a blue sports car and a compact SUV each parking in front of the two parked Company SUVs near the entrance in an effort to stop them from pulling out. The two soldiers with them approached the drivers, but backed off when both Andrew and Shelby rested the barrels of their sidearms on the top of the lowered windows.

A sedan pulled up in front of Caitlyn's car and both Toni and Charles McBride jumped out to confront the two other soldiers. "Hey, leave her alone!" Charles shouted as he walked up and got in the face of one of the two men. Toni walked straight over to Caiti and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, sorry we're late… are you alright?"

"A little shaken, but otherwise okay." Caitlyn sighed as she separated from Toni. She peered over her shoulder to see a few police officers standing outside of the entrance to the station. Toni looked behind her and shook her head.

"Looks like we better get going…"

* * *

 **So, just a reminder: Shelby and Kelly are Shade's wife and kid, Helen and Andrew are Jayhawk's wife and kid, respectively, Sarah is Royce's girlfriend, Caitlyn and Holly are Chemo's wife and kid, Skye is Scarecrow's wife, Toni and the twins are Archer's wife and kids, and Emily is Toad's fiancée.**

 **Next chapter is going to be a little rough... for reasons that should be apparent.**


	8. Shattered Ends - Part 3

**Just a shorter one for the time being, but don't let quantity be an indicator for quality... ;)**

* * *

Shelby sat in silence as their little convoy of four vehicles sped down the freeway to the Colorado/New Mexico state border. They were two cities away from crossing the state line and there was no sign of being followed or tracked, yet she couldn't help but have this sinking feeling in her chest.

She looked behind her and saw that Toni's car, an ice-white Chevy Impala, was behind them with Helen's red Ford Explorer behind them. Caitlyn was in the lead for this stretch of road, though Charles was behind the wheel of her Mazda 2 as Caiti was still shaken from her experience at the police station.

"Hey Mum," Kelly spoke up, catching her mother's attention. "So, I know the plan is to get out of town… but what do we do now? Where exactly do we go?"

"… I don't know. Years and years ago, when your Dad and I started these little action plans, he said that he'd try and contact us within an hour of sending the message." Shelby checked the time on the dashboard clock, and saw that they were close to that hour mark. "If he's still okay, he's due to call us soon."

"Right… and if he do-" Kelly was cut off as the car's phone system started to ring, Shelby quickly answering it.

"Tom?"

 _"_ _Oh thank Christ, Shel… are you okay?"_ Shade's voice was muffled and mixed with some static, likely from the long-distance encryption that was being used for the call.

"I'm okay Tom. I did as you said, all of the girls and the kids are together and safe, we're on I-25 heading south as we speak. What about you?"

There was a moment of pause before Shade replied. _"… everyone's gone, Shelby… I think myself and the boss are the only ones left…"_ Shelby's blood ran cold at the news, and she turned to Kelly with wide eyes. Kelly was focused on the road, but her hands were squeezing the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. _"We lost Meat and Royce in Rio... Chemo in Russia… Ghost, Roach, Scarecrow and Jayhawk in Georgia. Archer or Toad were there too, but I don't know if they got out…"_ Tom sounded so broken, as if he was on the edge of tears. _"Rook was with me… he went in my arms..."_

"Tommy…" Shelby whisper out, her own voice choked up. Over the years of being married with Shade, Hotel Team had grown to become more like a family. And now that family had effectively been wiped out.

 _"_ _Captain said that we're going after the one who did this, Shepherd... I don't know if I'll be able to see you again for a while after we do what we need to do… I need you and Kelly to stay strong for me, and for the others too. Tell them what I've told you; I know they're likely concerned with everything that's gone on."_

Tears were streaming down Shelby's face as she struggled to respond. "I will babe… what do you want us to do from here?"

 _"_ _A friend of the Captain said that a family member of his owns a charter jet service at Durango-La Plata County. You're looking for a middle-aged woman named Anya, tell her that Nikolai sends his best wishes and she'll help you out. I suggest either heading west or south, then try to make your way out of the country when you're able. I suspect after all that's happened, the military in general will be after us. And… might… after… as well."_ The line was starting to break up, and Shelby looked at the phone in panic.

"Tommy? I'm losing you!" She nearly shouted, desperately trying to make every second count. "I love you!"

 _"…_ _love… t-"_ The call cut off and was replaced by the steady beeping call disconnected tone. Shelby sat there in sheer silence, her world all but shattered at this point. Key details regarding what Shade had told her rang out in her head: how so many of the men had been killed; how Shepherd was somehow responsible for this; how she might not see him for quite some time.

"Mum… he's going to be fine… he's got this, okay?" Kelly said quietly, reassuring both herself and her mother. Kelly just nodded in agreement as she wiped her face clean of her tears.

* * *

Andrew sat on the edge of the roof of the motel that they were staying at for the night. They were close to the airport that they were headed to, but the events of the day had begun to take their toll on the tired and fatigued women and teenagers. They were sharing rooms to cut down on the cost and make sure nobody was alone that night; especially after the news that Shelby had to give to everyone else…

Andrew looked down to the unloaded pistol that he held in his hands, a Sig P226 that his father bought initially for use in the military, but then years later gifted to Andrew on his eighteen birthday. Personally, Andrew kept the gun in a clear case on his desk, more for decoration and presentation. He had no real ambition to use it despite the fact that he was an avid airsoft player and had a few similar airsoft guns much like it.

Maybe it was the fact that his Dad had carried it into battle on a few occasions, and there was a strong chance that the weapon had ended more than a few lives in its life.

With a sigh, he set the gun down and looked back up into the starless sky. At times like this, he would normally try to imagine what his Dad would be doing at that moment; wading waist deep in the rainforests of Brazil, or camping under the stars in Pakistan, or blowing up stuff in Bolivia.

No, he wasn't doing anything like that anymore. It was Kelly that broke the news about his father and his team whilst her mother did the same with everyone else. He could tell she felt sick about it; that she was telling him that his father was dead and that Charles and Rachel's father was missing but likely killed, all whilst her own was still alive.

"Hey…" Kelly's voice was almost a whisper, and Andrew turned around to find her standing a few yards away in a pair of jeans, a shirt and a hoodie. Behind her stood Charlie and Rachel, the pair holding onto each other for emotional and physical support.

"… hey." Andrew muttered back, turning back around to face the open sky in front of him. Quiet footsteps approached and Kelly sat down on the ledge beside him. There was a moment of awkwardness before she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and leant against him. After a few seconds, Andrew did the same and wrapped an arm around her side and held her close. There was nothing that needed to be said in that moment. Rachel and Charlie joined them a couple of minutes after, sitting beside them to form a close bundle of linked arms and bodies. Andrew broke the silence after what felt like hours.

"… I miss him already…"

* * *

Skye Graves couldn't sleep. Sadly, it wasn't something she wasn't used to; being five months pregnant did wonders for her sleeping pattern. No, it wasn't because of her unborn child, but for thoughts of the future. Of delivering said child without its father by her side. Of being alone for the child's first steps. First words, first day at school, first school fight, first romance and breakup. First drinks, graduating high school, graduating college, getting married, first grandchild. All of those important landmarks that a father should be there for.

But now she was alone. And not the normal 'deployment' alone. Alone, alone. This time, there would be no tear-stained reunion, no five-minute long welcome back kiss, no quiet nights in bed just enjoying each other's warmth and presence…

She tried her best to subdue her sobs, burying her head into the pillow to try and keep herself quiet. The bed shifted slightly and she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. She lifted her head to see who it was, and she caught the glint of an engagement ring on the unknown person's hand.

 _Emily…_

"It's okay…" Emily whispered as she held Skye close, both to comfort the pregnant woman and to comfort herself. They were all feeling the grief; they all had lost someone dear to them. Emily was a little more distraught; there was no guarantee to say whether Todd was alive or not; if he was alive, then where was he and how much longer would that be true? Toni had tried staying positive, more so for her children than anything, but Emily couldn't help but let her thoughts wander.

"… w-we hadn't started t-talking ab-bout names y-yet…" Skye sobbed quietly, shuddering slightly in Emily's arms. "… h-he said we c-could st-art when he g-got back…" Emily tried her best to not cry herself, but a few tears started to run down her face despite her best efforts.

"… do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?" Emily asked softly, and she felt Skye shake her head gently. "Well, if it's a boy, then why not Matthew as a middle name?" Skye gasped a little at the idea, and Emily thought for a moment that she said the wrong thing, but Skye turned around in her arms and smiled through her tears at Emily.

"I l-like that… something to help them remember their father by…"

* * *

The airport was in sight and Kelly leaned back in the passenger seat of her father's car. Shelby was behind the wheel today and was leading them from the motel to the airfield. Kelly took the moment to look back at her mother's phone again. Through the night, they had received another text message from her father. It had said that the pilot was more than okay with getting them out of town, and that they could leave their personal vehicles in the hangar that she owned.

She looked up as they pulled up to a stop near a maintenance access gate that lead to the tarmac, and Kelly watched as Shelby spoke to the security guard on duty. After a quick phone call to the pilot, who confirmed their cover story, they were given directions to where they needed to go and were let inside.

Kelly looked over all of the smaller parked aircraft as they drove past, most of them single or twin engine propeller aircraft. However, she got the shock of her life when they turned into a hangar and saw a while Gulfstream G650ER parked and ready to go. The four vehicles parked over to the far side, well out of the way, and the occupants all climbed out and stretched. Andrew, Charlie and Rachel all began to start unpacking everyone's baggage from the cars whilst Shelby, Helen and Kelly walked over to a blonde woman standing by the nose of the aircraft.

"Are you Anya?" Shelby asked when they were close enough.

"Da, you must be Shade's wife. I'm so sorry to hear about what happened. As soon as Nikolai explained everything, I dropped all of my plans to make sure I could help you." Anya said as she pulled each of the women in for a short hug. "Now, the fuel tanks are filled to the absolute brim. Have you all decided where to go?"

By this point, everyone else had grouped behind Shelby. They had quickly discussed this prior to calling it a night last night, but Shelby wanted to be sure that everyone was okay with what they decided. Turning around to the group, she spoke up.

"So, everyone here is okay with what we agreed on? If you have any objections or issues, now is your chance to say so." When she was met with silence, she turned back to Anya.

"Is Brisbane, Australia okay with you?"

* * *

 **Yes, I know that going to where Shade's from seems a little bit of a stretch and a bit Mary Sue/Gary Stu-ish as far as plot goes, but all will be justified in later chapters, trust me.**

 **A couple more chapters to go, I think. I promise, after this arc's completed, we'll be back to our regular programming of happy-fluffy-laughy times.**


	9. Shattered Ends - Part 4

**Another short-ish one again, but we're almost done. Maybe another chapter or two then it's back to happy-fun times!**

* * *

The sun was setting over the horizon as the Gulfstream G650ER soared over the Pacific Ocean. With a yawn, Kelly finally looked away from the small window and back into the cabin of the private jet. She was sharing a couch with Andrew in the rear of the aircraft; said young man was currently laying down on the couch with his head in her lap. Her hands ran through his hair absentmindedly as she thought about the day's events and what they had yet to face.

Despite the fact that both of her parents were Australian-born and raised, she herself had been born in the US and had only visited the country a handful of times in her entire life, mostly for a week each time. Now they were flying over there to stay for however long they needed to, maybe even permanently. Immigration and getting work wouldn't be much of a hassle as she had citizenship in both the US and Australia, but it was her friends and 'family' that she was worried about.

There was a chance that Toni might take the twins back to her home in Ireland after they landed in Brisbane, as she and her husband Archer had both been born there. But everyone else was stuck in a tight place. Nobody else had a visa to enter the country, even though they came from the US where travel agreements were fairly loose. The US Embassy in Canberra wasn't an option either, as chances were that everyone might have been flagged as persons of interest with the US Military and the relevant law enforcement agencies.

Her mother and Andrew's mother seemed to have everything under control though. At least, that was the impression that they gave to everyone else through the day.

Andrew stirred in her lap, and let out a small yawn as he turned to get a little more comfortable. Careful not to wake him, Kelly slowly slid out from underneath him and reached underneath the couch for a blanket to cover him up with. However, as she stood in front of him with the blanket ready to go, she couldn't help but feel herself growing fairly tired herself. She glanced over to the others who were engaged in conversation; her mum, Helen and Sarah were discussing something quietly; Toni had both of her kids with her and was talking to them; Skye and Emily had both fallen asleep on each other's shoulders; and Caitlyn was sitting by herself with her daughter Holly fast asleep on her lap.

The two made eye contact, then Caitlyn winked at her and mimicked zipping her lips and throwing away the key. _I won't tell._ Kelly smiled appreciatively and steeled her resolve, gently lowering herself down on the couch in front of Andrew. At first she felt awkward and uncomfortable, and was considering getting back up. She was stopped by Andrew's movement, and without warning an arm reached around her side and wrapped around her. She felt herself blush a little, as she and Andrew had only shared a bed like this once before after a party, but quickly grew tired as she felt the warmth of his body flow into her. Carefully, she pulled the blanket over the pair of them and felt asleep with a content smile on her face.

* * *

Steven McBride felt like absolute shit. There was no other way of describing it. But as his mind wandered to the bundle of dog tags stowed safely away in his chest pocket, he found himself disregarding all of the pain and suffering he was experiencing. Beside him, Todd Cane wheezed and gasped for breath as they took a moment to rest in the dense bushland on the outskirts of a small Georgian town.

The pair of them were fortunate to escape for a number of reasons: if Archer hadn't selected thermal-masking ghillie suits, enemy snipers or surveillance drones would have easily picked up their position; if Toad hadn't packed a suppressor for his rifle, Archer would've been killed by a few of the remaining Shadow Company troops that had been left behind as security whilst he'd gone to recover the tags of his fallen friends; if they had worn their heavier chest rigs or had packed armour plating, they'd have been slowed down and would have worn out faster in their egress out of the target area.

And if they hadn't spooked some poor farmer whilst trying to acquire some transport after the stolen Shadow Company SUV had run out of fuel, Toad wouldn't be nursing a gunshot wound in his left thigh that was still bleeding at a decent rate despite the fact that they had applied a tourniquet and crafted a makeshift bandage out of a sleeve of his shirt.

"Toadie, you holding up alright mate?" Archer asked quietly, still too cautious to risk doing anything that might give their position away. The pair had been running in a vaguely southern direction for hours now, not really stopping to rest or take stock of their surroundings.

"Never better Arch… would've been better if the local yokel had used a small-calibre rifle instead of a twelve-gauge." Toad grunted as he loosened off the tourniquet a little bit and adjusted his blood-soaked bandage. "I'm glad that fucker was half-blind and three-sheets to the wind, otherwise who else would annoy your ass."

"You say that like I'd miss your lazy ass." Archer smirked underneath his face paint, glad that his wounded comrade hadn't lost the ability to make jokes in this hellish moment of their lives.

"… you reckon that the others are okay?" Toad asked after a moment's silence, referring to the other half of the team in Afghanistan: Captain Price, MacTavish, Rook and Shade.

"I'd imagine so… then again Ghost had both the long-range and the sat-phone so I wouldn't know for sure. We'll worry about them later, they're more than capable enough to survive and regroup. We need to focus on getting out of here and back to someplace friendly." Archer said as he clasped a hand on his best friend's shoulder, standing and helping him up to his feet.

"After all this is done, I'm going to marry the shit out of my girlfriend." Toad groaned as he fought through the pain shooting through his leg.

"And I'll be right there beside you mate. Every fucking step of the way."

* * *

Holly slowly woke from her resting place in her mother's lap. Rubbing her tired eyes, she looked at her still-sleeping mother and then at the other ladies that were fast asleep in the dim cabin. For a moment, she forgot where she was; in a private jet flying thousands of feet above the ocean, headed for a country that she'd heard 'cousin Kelly' and 'Aunty Shelby' talk about a number of times. Then the events of the day came rushing back to her and she fought hard to keep a sob from escaping her lips.

Unlike what her mother and her 'aunties' thought, she was a smart little girl. And there was no mistaking that something terribly wrong had happened to all of them. Her mum had mentioned something about her Dad not coming home, that something had happened to him at work. But things always happened to Dad at work in the past and none of those things had made her Mom cry like she had last night. Add in the fact that everyone else was upset as well, and it could only mean one thing.

Dad had died while being a soldier. Holly was upset about this, make no mistake. She had cried and cried for hours when everything her mother and Aunty Shelby had told her had sunk in. There were all these things she wanted to show and do with her Dad when he came home, and now she wasn't going to get the chance. She had been practising a dance to teach him for a parent-student dance night at school, so she could show him off to all of her friends. Now she had no Dad to dance with…

But whilst she was upset, she also felt strangely happy. Yes, her Dad had died while he was fighting. But he was doing something he loved, and did so with his friends by his side. They were all together in the end and they would still be together now, watching down on them from above. She'd never forget the look on his face when he'd tell her stories, albeit heavily censored and redacted, of things he did with all his friends at the base. Of the time when Uncle Shade had swapped Uncle Ghost's mask with the face of a cartoon character. Or the time when Uncle Meat and Uncle Royce pranked her Dad with a glitter bomb in the shower. Or even the time when her Dad had saved Uncle Rook's life when they had an accident in a helicopter.

She'd miss her Dad; she was sure about that. But she had found some peace with knowing that he could rest peacefully now, and that he was now keeping her safe from up above.

Quietly, and with small tears running down her cheeks, she looked up at the roof of the cabin towards where her Dad was, and smiled.

"… I love you Dad…"

* * *

Shade sat in the front seat of the MH-6 Littlebird as it sped away from the burning wreckage of the General's MH-53 Pave Low that had crashed near an oil drilling site. He was against the idea from the start, but both Captains had insisted that he stay back with Nikolai and be there in case they needed rapid aerial support.

When they had touched down and found MacTavish with a gaping chest wound, Shade had launched into action and started trying to recount anything and everything that Chemo had taught him over the years in an act to extend the life of his critically wounded boss and friend. Price had pushed Shade out of the way when they had reached the Littlebird, and he was relegated to co-pilot duty as they spirited away and headed for a safe house that Nikolai knew about in India.

The flight across had been quiet; Price had managed to stabilise an unconscious MacTavish, and Nikolai had been intermittently communicating on the radio with the various air traffic controllers in the area. He felt that it was the perfect opportunity to try and get in contact with his wife and the rest of his 'family'. Pulling out his phone, he cast a glance at the Russian beside him. Shade owed him immensely; here he was, risking his own life to be there for the three of them in their hunt for Shepherd and now Makarov, and he went one step further to ensure that the team's family back home was also safe.

He composed a short text to his wife and sent it, hoping to hell that the encrypted phone would pick up a nearby tower and send the message.

 **I'm still alive. We did it. Most likely disavowed because of it. We're only just getting started though. What about you?**

It was a few minutes before he felt the phone buzz with a reply, and he felt himself relax greatly when he read it.

 ** _I'm happy to hear that. Everyone's here, safe and sound… still coming to grips with losses though. And we're headed home. Seemed like the safest option._**

Shade and his wife texted back and forth for a better part of half an hour, before he got a low-battery warning message on the phone.

 **I've got to go now. Keep everyone safe, and keep your head low.**

The last message he received before the phone died set a fire alight in his heart.

 ** _I will, don't you worry about that. You keep_** ** _your_** ** _head low, your ass in one piece, and you go get that bastard. Love you._**

* * *

 **Not going to lie, I kinda cried a little when writing that little bit from Holly's POV. She understands what's happened, but not to the same degree that the older kids and the adults do. Yet, she (like all young children somehow do) finds the most rational way of dealing with it, and has somewhat found some comfort in her mind. I see her as looking up to her Dad like a hero and an idol, someone to aspire to be, and she'll continue to be that kind of person to honour his memory and be his legacy.**

 **Let me know what you think about this.**

 **Until next time!**


	10. Shattered Ends - Part 5

**Sorry it's been a little while guys! It took a little longer to finish this one as we're drawing close to the end of the arc. Next one might be the last one for Shattered Ends.**

 **I would've had this out earlier but work has been getting busier, meaning I've been getting home a little later and more mentally drained. That and some minor family stuff (nothing dramatic or anything, so don't worry).**

 **Anyway, enough from me about me. You guys have a chapter to read!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Skye and Emily sat in silence as the two young women watched the sun rise over the grassy hills in the distance. The air was cold and frigid; a stark contrast to the mid-summer climate they had left behind in the US. Still, the near-zero temperatures did little to distract the two young women from the beauty of an Australian sunrise.

"… it's something, isn't it…" Skye said, her voice a near-whisper as she curled up a little bit tighter in the blanket she was wrapped in.

"…. Yeah." Emily agreed, just as quiet as she covered her mouth to prevent a yawn from escaping. Much like their brief sleep on the private jet, neither of the two girls had gotten a good night's rest. And it was showing.

The two of them drifted off into a light sleep, their bodies resting against and supporting each other as they dozed off. Shelby watched this from the doorway nearby, a full mug of coffee in her grasp as she smiled sadly. It was good to have everyone together but Shelby wished it was under much better circumstances.

It had taken roughly half a day to get to the rural property that her husband's parents owned north west of the capital: they had to get three vehicles to carry all twelve of them plus their belongings, and renting vehicles on such short notice was quite difficult; they had to stop by various shops to buy food and other critical supplies; and finally had to make the long trip on the back roads in order to identify and counter any potential tails. Yes, they were in another country, but Shelby and the others didn't want to test just how far General Shepherd's reach was.

A soft yawn from behind made her turn around to see a half-asleep Andrew walk into the kitchen, and she had to conceal a smirk as the young man made a beeline for the still-hot kettle and coffee.

"Morning Andy…" She said quietly, not quite sure about who else was awake at this early hour of the day.

"… Mornin' Shelby…" He muttered around a fresh cup of coffee that was lifted to his lips. "… oh, that's the stuff."

"Hey… how are you holding up? I haven't had a moment to see how you and the others were doing amongst all of this…" Shelby asked him, taking a seat on a stool by the counter. "Don't take this the wrong way, but just because you're the oldest guy here doesn't mean you're exempt from grieving like the rest of us…"

Andrew sighed at her question, and shook his head slightly. "It's… it's fine… I mean, it's not like I never expected this to happen at all. I'm no stranger to the risks and the like that come with being an 'army kid'. Like, in the back of my head I knew that one day I'd come home from school or work one day and find out that my Dad's been killed whilst fighting overseas, or something along those lines." Andrew sat up a little and looked at her, his eyes starting to water ever so slightly. "I… I just d-didn't know that it'd h-hurt this much."

Shelby wasted no time in getting up and walking around to rest a consoling arm around Andrew's shoulders, pulling him into her side much like she would with her own daughter. He started to sob quietly into her chest. "I-I don't know wh-what to do now... there w-was so much m-more that I w-wanted to do with h-him…"

All that Shelby do was hold him close and help him finally vent the built up emotion that had slowly but steadily accumulated over the last couple of days. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Kelly had woken up and was standing by the entrance to the kitchen from the hallway, no doubt having heard the small discussion and subsequent breakdown. The mother and daughter shared a look, and Kelly nodded in acknowledgement as she slowly backed away and let her friend have his time to grieve.

* * *

It was cold. Too cold. Bone-freezing cold.

Yet Shade had a mission, and not even sub-zero temperatures were going to stop him from accomplishing it. The week and a half had passed in a blur; the airport massacre, the pursuit in Rio, the oil rigs, the gulag, the sub-base, Hotel Bravo and the chase for General Shepherd, the escape and fight in India.

After India he was given a choice: stay and fight, and risk everything to clear his name and get revenge on his fallen friends; or go home and keep the fight from reaching his family. Captain Price had given him the choice, and said that with all that they'd been through he wouldn't look down on him if he opted to leave. 'Not every battle is meant to be fought', Price had said.

The ringing sat-phone had given him a third option. Shade had answered it, and almost collapsed at the raspy Scottish accent on the other end of the line. Archer and Toad had escaped to a town on the outskirts of Tbilisi and had holed up there to rest and recover from their ordeal. Toad was in a rough way, but the stubborn bastard had lived through so much that he wasn't about to give up now.

After the call had ended, Shade turned around to make his choice.

And it was at the outside edge of a town called Didi Gupta where Shade was, sitting in a rented Jeep that he had hired after boarding an international flight under a fake name and credentials to the capital of Tbilisi. He had taken another sat-phone with him, and recorded the number that Archer had used to call him the first time.

With a sigh, he pulled the phone from his pocket and dialled the number, then held the phone to his ear.

* * *

The five kids were walking along one of the many dirt paths that rang along the property they were staying in for the foreseeable future. Holly and Rachel had run ahead, the younger girl leading the older one on a wild chase as they both ran amongst the trees and light bush nearby; Charlie walked near them as he listened to some music on his phone in an effort to keep an eye on his sister and the younger girl.

Andy and Kelly hung back behind them, walking beside each other in comfortable silence. They were both reflecting on the last few days, occasionally their thoughts would drift to their fathers and the team in general.

"… I'm sorry." Andrew's apology seemed misplaced to Kelly. In her mind, it should be her apologising to him about his loss.

"Why?" She berated herself for saying something like that, when she had meant to say something along the lines of 'Don't be'.

"For any time in the near future where I may come off as feeling jealous or anything along those lines…"

"… because my Dad's still…" She didn't want to finish the sentence, both out of how uncomfortable it made her feel and because she didn't want to upset Andy any further.

"… yeah. I mean, I probably have every right to be… but we don't know what happened out there. For all we know, it could have been the other way around right now. Or that trying to save my Dad would have meant the death of yours… or that my Dad saved yours." Andrew sighed and stopped walking, choosing to stand in the middle of the path with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "I guess what I'm trying to say is-"

"Don't." Kelly interrupted him, wrapping her arms around his midsection and pulling herself against him to hug him from behind. "You don't need to say anything about anything like that. I know what you're going through, even if it's not exactly the same. Yes, my Dad's still alive… that could still change though. It could change at any given moment." She let go and spun him around to face her. "As long as we have each other though, we'll get through this. I don't think either of our Dad's would want us to dwell on them when we have every opportunity to live our lives in their memory."

The two teens stood there in silence, nothing else needing to be said at that moment in time. They held onto each other, that unspoken promise that they'd be there for each other regardless of what happened.

"Kelly?"

"… yeah?"

"… thank you…" Anything Kelly had to say in reply was forgotten as Andy leant down and gently pressed his lips against hers.

Charles looked back at the two of them and chuckled under his breath. "… about bloody time…"

* * *

 _"…_ _and the situation is growing worse and worse as Russian Forces sweep over Western Europe in the wake of multiple chemical attacks across major capital cities, including but not limited to Paris, London and Berlin."_ Toni shook her head in shock and disgust as she changed the channel on the TV to another news story that was covering the developing war in Europe.

"There goes the idea of flying out to the family back home…" She said to both Shelby and Caitlyn as she sat down on the couch beside them. During the flight over, each of them had gone through what they had planned to do once they landed. Caitlyn wanted to spent a week with them before making her way back home to Ireland in order to get closer to family and friends of both herself and Archer over there. With the string of attacks that took place though, that idea was no longer viable.

"I can safely say that without a doubt, this was what the boys were fighting to prevent. Now that they're gone, whoever they were after was able to get away with all of this." Caitlyn said with a sombre voice. "What did Tommy say again?"

"He told me that it looks more than likely that General Shepherd played a part in all of this… wanted to try and get revenge for his loss in the Middle East. The general made it his mission to go after whoever supplied that weapon and made that possible. And it seems that he made it his personal mission upon taking command of the Task Force." Shelby answered as she stood up to head to the kitchen, repeating some of the information that Shade had

"Wait, he was in command when that bomb went off in Saudi Arabia?" Caiti asked.

"Yeah. Lost something along the lines of thirty thousand troops, with twice as many injured. That's not including the allied forces that went in with the US as well: Canadians, Australians, Brits. Everyone took a loss that day." Toni sighed as she shook her head. Shelby wanted to say more but a breaking news alert caught everyone's attention.

 _"_ _This just in from Afghanistan: Lieutenant General Hershel von Shepherd, a key military leader of US and Allied Forces operating in the Middle East, has been found dead after the wreckage of a US helicopter was located earlier today in the desolate region. Whilst reports as to the exact nature and cause of his death are unconfirmed, there is speculation that a coalition special operations task force and a private military company are both involved. General Shepherd was in command of allied troops during the campaign against Khaled Al-Asad…"_

The gather women could only stare at the television screen in shock, a multitude of thoughts running through their head. Slowly, they all turned to look at each other as they all came to the same conclusion.

"They got him."

* * *

Shade, Archer and Toad were seated in the back row of the small regional airliner: Toad had passed out on his partner's shoulder from a mix of fatigue and the dull pain he still felt from his leg wound; Archer was not far behind him, trying his best to keep awake whilst Shade tapped away a message on a burner phone he had bought at the airport they had departed from.

It had been an ordeal to leave Georgia with the two other soldiers. They didn't bring passports with them, so an international flight out of the country was not a feasible option. They had hopped from airport to airport, and illegally crossed multiple borders to reach where they were now: on a small chartered airliner operated by a discount airline in South East Asia. It was amazing what the right amount of US currency could do in this region, especially if you wanted to become invisible whilst in plain sight.

It had been at the terminal in Bangladesh when news had broken about the General's death. No doubt it had been the work of both Captain MacTavish and Captain Price, which was both good news and bad news to the three survivors of the team. It wouldn't be long before the Task Force was pinned with the blame, and to none of their surprise, it was in Thailand when they had heard that the Task Force had been officially disavowed by the UN and NATO. The announcement had included the statement that members of Combat Team H were marked as wanted men, having been 'directly involved' with the General's death, whilst the members of all the other combat teams were either discharged honourably or returned to their previous units.

Shade was relieved at that last piece of news: the last thing he wanted was the careers of at least a hundred professional soldiers tarnished and ruined through the actions of a corrupt and criminal commanding officer. Whilst it meant that there was a price on his head, he could sleep a little easy knowing that it was only just him and a few others, not the entire unit.

He put the final touches on the message, double checked it for any details that might compromise his personal security or the security of his recipient, then sent it.

 **The band was broken up. Members are going back to previous groups. I've been ditched by our agent though, can't go back to my old band. I'm going to come home when I can.**

It was about half an hour before he received a reply.

 ** _I saw the news myself. It sucks; you guys put out a lot of good albums._** Shade chuckled and shook his head as he worked on the next message.

 **Believe me, I agree with you on that. I talked to some of the roadies, Micky and Frog; they're stranded and need a place to crash for a bit. You okay with that?**

 ** _Am I okay with that? Of course I am! I mean, they're not the drummer or the lead vocalist or the others, but they're better than nothing._**

 **Yeah. Look, I've gotta go. Give the rug rat a kiss for me, will you?**

 ** _Of course I will. See you and the boys soon._**

* * *

 **Like I said, almost there guys! One more to go before we're back to happy and crazy times!**


	11. Shattered Ends - Part 6 - Finale

**FINAL CHAPTER. 'Tis the end of this story arc.**

 **I will admit, it was both fun and sad to write, challenging too as I had to blend my own universe with the canon-verse in a way that was plausible yet easy to work around. Found myself doing a lot of timeline-centric research and the like.**

 **Hopefully you all found this arc interesting and the like. After this, it should be straight back onto the happier and zanier times of this little universe I've created.**

 **Enough from me! Enjoy!**

* * *

Shade sat on the couch in the front living room trying his best to stay awake at this early hour of the morning. Archer and Toad sat on a separate couch across the room, the sniper and spotter fast asleep and resting against each other after their ordeal. It had been a long and difficult journey back home; they had spent most of their emergency cash on bribing multiple customs officials to get them through the various ports of entry they needed to cross to get back home, all whilst trying to avoid being identified as members of the disavowed Task Force 141.

Still, they had made it. The three of them found transport and arrived to one of his parents-in-law's properties that his wife, child and those of his friends were staying at. Shade had found the spare key in a potted plant on the back porch and used it to gain entry, helping Archer move the tired and injured Toad into the lounge room where he could rest. He had then fetched himself and Archer a bottle of water each only to return to the sniper fast asleep on the couch beside his spotter.

Shade set the spare bottle on the coffee table between them, and sat down on the couch himself. He let his thoughts wander to his wounded commander and idly wondered what he himself would be doing if he had chosen to stay with them in India. The Captain's recovery would take quite a while, meaning that they would have been out of the fight save for defending against Makarov's men and the world at large.

The sound of soft footsteps brought Shade back to reality, and at the entrance to the living room was young Holly; Chemo's adoptive daughter. She was rubbing her eyes with a closed fist, her other hand against the wall for support in her half-asleep state. He watched quietly as Holly yawned and let her eyes adjust for a moment before venturing further into the room to see who exactly was there.

* * *

Holly couldn't sleep properly as she had just woken from a bad dream, and was about to fall back asleep when she heard the car pull up outside. Wondering what was happening, she listened as slow but heavy footsteps plodded on the timber floor through the hallway, and could pick up the faintest hint of voices trying to be quiet. The girl sat up in her bed and cast a glance to the teenagers she was sharing the room with, and saw that all four of them were still deep asleep and virtually dead to the world around them.

Slowly and carefully as to not risk waking them, she crept out of her bed and snuck out of the room in order to see who or what was creating the noise. At the very best, it could be her Mum or one of her Aunties and she would get in trouble for being awake so late at night. At the worst, it could be one of the 'Shadow' men that she would hear Auntie Sarah and Auntie Emily talk about in a worried and scared way. Regardless of the risk, she wanted to be brave and find out.

A lamp was on in the living room, and she made her way to the entrance to see two men in dirty clothing fast asleep on the lounge across the room. She rubbed her eyes as she started to feel more and more awake, then saw a third man sitting down on another couch near her. With a yawn, she started to walk towards him and see who exactly he was. On her approach however, she bumped onto a small bag that was on the floor and nearly tripped over. A strong arm stopped her from falling flat on her face, and she looked up to see who caught her.

It was Uncle Shade.

* * *

"Isn't it a little bit late for you to be awake Holly?" Shade asked the girl with a small smile on his face, internally amused by the look of confusion that was forming on her own face.

"… Uncle Shade?" she said quietly, as if she was unsure of herself.

"Yes Holly, it's me… and that's Uncle Archer and Uncle Toad over there." He pointed to the two sleeping men across from him. "Make sure to keep quiet, they haven't slept for a while now. Come on, follow me…" Shade led the girl out of the room and into the kitchen, where they sat beside each other on stools at the kitchen counter. Neither of them knew what to say for a few minutes, just taking the time to enjoy the relative peace and quiet at that time of night.

"… your Dad was very brave." Shade said, breaking the silence with his low but quiet voice. "I wasn't with him at the end… but Uncle Archer was. He said that your Dad was brave and was a hero, doing what he did. He was trying his best to save the others; Archer was watching your Dad's back all the time." He rested his hand on her back, knowing that what he'd do next would likely make her cry.

"Archer gave these to me when I found him." He said, reaching into his pocket for one of the many sets of dog tags that he had recovered from the bodies. "I think, no, I know that your Dad would have wanted you to have these, just in case…" Shade leant over and carefully draped Chemo's tags around her neck, and rubbed her back gently as she wordlessly held them in her hand and read from them. "I can tell you one thing for certain, Holly… your Dad is watching down on you now. Even though he might not be here in body, he's with you now and forever more in spirit."

BRENT, NICHOLAS E.  
331-06-0160 AF  
A POS  
NO PREFERENCE

"THESE THINGS WE  
DO, SO THAT  
OTHERS MAY LIVE."  
"CHEMO"

Holly rubbed the tears from her eyes, and looked up at her 'uncle' with a sad smile. "… thank you."

A gasp from the doorway behind them made Shade turn around, and standing there was Kelly and Andrew. Andrew had a surprised look on his face whilst Kelly was fighting tears as she quickly crossed the distance between them to wrap her arms around her father's chest and bury her face into his chest. She began to cry into him from the relief of seeing him, and from having overheard what he was saying to Holly.

Andrew ran from the doorway to the room that Helen and Shelby were sharing. Not bothering to knock, he swung the door open and slapped the switch to turn the light on. There were a few muffled expletives as both of the women tried to figured out what was going on, but they froze in shock as they heard a voice call out down the hallway.

"Honey, I'm home!"

* * *

The seven women, three men and five children were gathered in the living room. Shade had both Kelly and Shelby on his sides, the pair of them clung tightly to him and daring anyone nearby to separate them. Archer was fairing the same with the twins as Toni sat beside him with a tear-stained face, relieved to see him again. Toad had Emily's arms around his neck as she clung onto him for dear life whilst Sarah was sat by his leg, assessing and treating his wounds the best she could.

Andrew, Helen and Skye were on the last free couch in front of the coffee table, carefully going through the remaining dog tags that Archer and Shade had recovered from their fallen loved ones and friends. Wordlessly, Andy picked up his father's tags and held them in front of his mother for her to take and read.

CHASE, TYLER M.  
257876837USN BP  
NO PREFERENCE

"GIVE UP, GIVE  
IN, OR GIVE IT  
ALL YOU'VE GOT"  
"JAYHAWK"

She shook her head and held them out for Andrew to wear around his neck, which he did with some hesitancy. At the same time, Skye had found Matt's tags, and studied them intently before holding them softly against her baby bump.

GRAVES, MATT L.  
714-223-6488  
O POS  
CHRISTIAN

"WE FEW, WE  
BRAVE, WE MEN  
OF STEEL."  
"SCARECROW"

Helen tapped Sarah on the shoulder when she had finished patching up Toad, who had given a quick thank you before turning his attention back onto Emily, and offered Mark's tags to her. With an appreciative smile, she took them and hung them around her neck next to her own service tags.

J97 248 582  
MT ROYCEWITZ  
RC AB/RH/NEG  
CDN FORCES CDN

"NEED A SAVIOUR?  
ETA: TWO MIKES."  
"ROYCE"

Shade watched them all as they read their loved one's tags, one of the few things they had to keep in their memory. He wished that none of this ever happened, wondered how things might have turned out if they had known what would have happened. He glanced down at his best friend's tags that were gripped tightly in his left hand.

AS  
1267482  
J COOPER  
ANG  
B NEG

"THOSE THAT DARE  
MAY NOT ALWAYS WIN,  
BUT ALWAYS DIE TRYING."  
"ROOK"

He looked up from the tags and cast a glance around the room. Everyone was silent, either savouring the company of their partners and kids, or remembering the one they had lost so far from home. Almost subconsciously, he cleared his throat and drew their attention to him. He looked once more at the tags in his hand, and spoke quietly yet resolutely.

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we _will_ remember them."

* * *

 _"…_ _news just in about an apparent attack at the Hotel Oasis in Dubai. Witnesses and members of the Dubai police are stating that two men armed with heavy weapons stormed the building and fought their way to the penthouse suite of the building. At this time, no terrorist cell has claimed responsibility for the attack, though there are rumours that the infamous terrorist Vladmir Makarov, the man responsible for orchestrating World War Three as well as many other terrorist attacks had been staying in the area…"_

Shade, Archer and Toad were watching the breaking news bulletin with the intensity of a laser. Kelly had come running out to where the three of them were resting outside saying something about an attack, and as the reporter went on to detail the basic details on how witnesses described the attack, they all came to the same conclusion. Shade was the one to voice it.

"He got him."

* * *

There is a clock tower in the small town of Hereford where the names of deceased warriors of the Special Air Service are inscribed. Every day at exactly the same time, a grizzled man with a battered face and greying moustache stands at the wall of names in the tower, reading every single one and recalling the faces of those he knew personally. Gerry Mason. Mackenzie Stewart. Henry Griffen. Gary Sanderson. Simon Riley.

John MacTavish.

The man would read the names for an hour, smoking away at a cigar until it was barely a stub, just reading the names until he couldn't handle the memories any more.

One day, as he stood in front of the wall and read over the names as he had done for the last month and a half, three men walked up and stood beside him. Without looking to see who it was, the man immediate felt at ease and felt as though he was amongst comrades.

"I miss them too." Shade said quietly to his former temporary commander, John Price. "Not a day goes by where I don't think about them in one way or another."

"Ghost's intimidating glares, Roach's tendency to hurt himself, Captain MacTavish's drive to accomplish a mission…" Archer listed. "I could go on for days with every thought that I have of them. I doubt I'll ever finish until the day I join them…"

"Whilst they paid the ultimate price, we can all agree that not a second of their lives was wasted. And if given the choice, I know that we'd all jump at the chance to join them if needed." Toad finished, looking over the familiar names that were carved into the smooth sandstone.

"… he was one of the best soldiers I had ever had the pleasure of leading into battle, that man." Price said after a few moments of silence. "He was wide eyed when he joined the Regiment, but in no time he turned into one of the finest SAS troopers ever to serve. He certainly earned that Cross." He added, gazing at the 'VC' that was written beside John's name on the wall.

They stood in silence for another few minutes, before Shade and the others turned around and began their exit. Shade stopped at the last moment and looked back towards Price. "What do you say; a glass of Oban for our fallen friends?"

Price looked at the ground and chuckled, looking up to the Australian with a sad but appreciative smile on his face.

"… sure. I have a bottle that we can use…"

* * *

 **It didn't feel right to write out Price and how he might have coped with the loss after the events of MW3. Admittedly, the way he took out Makarov might have landed him in some kind of legal trouble, but I assume that it would have all been pardoned by the government(s) in lieu of his actions to bring down a terrorist of that level.**

 **In my eyes, I see him finally retiring (by choice or under pressure from Director MacMillan) and moving to the town of Hereford: A, to be close to the base and be in contact with old friends and colleagues from the Regiment; and B, to be able to visit and honour Soap's memory as he was one of Price's closest friends (bordering on father/son level relationship).**

 **And I see Shade and the last remaining members of Soap's TF141 team visiting Price at the clock tower memorial to both visit him and visit the memorial where their fallen comrades are forever immortalised.**

 **Anyway, please let me know how you feel about how I ended this arc.**

 **And if you have anything you'd like to see as far as one-off chapters or short arcs, I'm happy to take suggestions/requests/ideas.**

 **Until next time!**


	12. Shattered Ends - Epilogue

**I wrote this chapter initially as a standalone piece for HWC, but after I concluded Shattered Ends, I felt that this would be a good way to cap it off after the finale from last chapter.**

 **I apologise if some of the facts seem incorrect, I was using the MW Timeline as seen on the CoD Wikia page as my primary reference.**

 **And excuse any typos: I did do a proofread pass over this but about 90% of this was written on my phone...**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Holly Brent stood up the classroom, the room dimmed and a PowerPoint presentation on the wall beside her. She was nervous for a few reasons. She wasn't the best at public speaking in general, she wasn't too fond on the subject she was being assessed on, and she was afraid that the subject matter of her presentation might not be appropriate for the assignment.

"Miss Brent, you may begin when you are ready." Her teacher called out from the back of the classroom, a clipboard in hand ready to note down her marks. With a deep breath, she began.

"In the fallout of the brief 2011 conflict in Saudi Arabia and South Western Russia, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation authorised the formation of a special operations task force with the intent to hunt down the terrorist Vladmir Makarov and his organisation known as the 'Inner Circle'. This task force was battalion sized at its core was comprised of twenty-six assault teams, known as 'Saber Teams', with additional support personnel ranging for medical, administrative and logistical purposes. This was Task Force 141."

Holly changed the slide on screen to a series of news clippings from the attack at the airport in Moscow. "August 12, 2016. Four men, led by Vladmir Makarov, enact a massacre at Zahkaev International Airport in Russia. Using US-produced weapons, they slaughtered hundreds of innocent men, women and children, and ruthlessly gunned down the responding emergency services."

A copy of a US Armed Forces ID card came on screen, alongside a chalk outline of a body at the airport. "One gunman was left for dead at the scene, and was identified as former US Army Ranger Private Joseph Allen. The discovery of an American amongst the group of terrorists led the Russian Ultranationalist government to opening declare war on the US, claiming to kill one-hundred Americans for every Russian killed at the airport."

A map of the world filled the screen: highlighted by red dots are Rio, two dots at Petropavlovsk, Kandahar and a dot along the Russo-Georgian border. "The outbreak of war led to Task Force 141 commencing the start of Operation Kingfish Two. Objective: Hunt down Makarov and bring his actions to light. Their first mission took place in the favelas north of Rio De Janerio, an effort to find the weapons dealer that supplied the attack: Alejandro Rojas."

News articles about a massive gunfight in the favela district flashed on screen, a map of the area underneath it. "The 141 found themselves engaged by the local militia and took some casualties, but they eventually managed to locate and interrogate Rojas for information." A picture of two men phased into view, the pair of them smiling and wearing their combat uniforms. "The two casualties were Sergeants Brian Tanner and Mark Roycewitz, recruited from the Canadian Special Operations Regiment."

"The information gained led to the 141 conducting a raid on a set of Russian-controlled oil platforms off the coast of Russia to neutralise the anti-aircraft batteries installed on them and rescue the civilian crew that had been taken hostage. After the skies were made safe, they proceeded to conduct an assault on an old Russian gulag east of Petropavlovsk. Intel gained from Rojas stated that a prisoner being held there was a known enemy of Makarov and the Ultranationalist movement, so the 141 believed that recovering them would be instrumental in bringing Makarov down."

A picture of Captain John Price of the SAS, alongside a redacted segment of his service record, was the next slide. "This is Captain John Price, a member of the British Special Air Service and leader of Bravo Team during the 2011 crisis. His team's actions led to the end of the brief war. He was listed as 'Missing, Potentially Killed in Action' after he was not found at the end of the war. He was captured by Ultranationalist forces and imprisoned in a gulag, the same gulag that the 141 assaulted years later. This was the man that was Makarov's enemy."

"Price was debriefed and reinstated into the ranks of the British Army, then joined the 141 on an assault of a submarine base nearby the gulag where he was kept. The reason for the assault was kept quiet until he boarded a docked nuclear submarine and fired a missile at the Washington DC. However, he had set the warhead to detonate well above the city, and the resulting blast generated an Electromagnetic Pulse that knocked out every unshielded electronic device in the entire state: including Russian aircraft and ground vehicles. This gave defending US forces a chance to retake control of the district."

Two maps appeared on screen: Afghanistan and Georgia. "The 141, through intelligence supplied by the CIA, planned simultaneous assaults on two of Makarov's safe houses: one at an aircraft graveyard in Kandahar, the other tucked away in the Caucasus Mountai-"

"Miss Brent," her teacher interrupted, standing up from her desk and catching the attention of the entire class, "while I'm sure most of us are engrossed in this history lesson, your presentation was supposed to be about a member or members of your family. Since we haven't heard one single mention about said topic, I'll have to fail you for this assignment."

Holly sighed, and skipped past a number of slides to stop at a group picture of twelve soldiers gathered at the end of a Pave Low helicopter. "Whilst I'll admit I got a little carried away with the setup, this report is indeed about my family." She walked over and pointed out a man standing on the left with his arms crossed over his vest.

"This is Senior Airman Nick Brent, call sign 'Chemo', formerly of the Thirty-Eight Rescue Squadron of the USAF. Recruited into Task Force 141 in 2012, killed in action during the raid on Makarov's mountain safe house in 2016. He was my father."

The classroom was silent as everyone let that piece of information sink in. Holly composed herself before continuing. "He served as his team's combat medic on multiple missions and had even saved their lives on a few occasions. He was killed whilst trying to save his best friend, former Delta Force machine gunner Sergeant Matt 'Scarecrow' Graves. Scarecrow had been hit by frag from a grenade, and my Dad was treating his wounds when another grenade landed right beside them... I was told that the pair of them were killed almost-instantly."

She wiped her face of the forming tears and pointed out three different men amongst the group. "These three men are the last surviving members of Hotel Team: Sergeant Tom Williams, Staff Sergeant Steve McBride and Sergeant Todd Cane. Respectively known as Shade, Archer and Toad, these three men fought along my father's side for years and years. I've known them most of my life, and consider them part of my family as well."

"Shade was with the team that hit Kandahar, and escaped with his team leader and an ally of theirs. Unfortunately, his teammate and best friend, Sergeant Jayson "Rook" Cooper, was killed during the fight.

"Archer and Toad were the unit's sniper element, and were providing overwatch on my father's team when they were at the safe house in Georgia. They escaped just in time and were able to make it to safety, and Shade arrived in Georgia a few days later to walk them out. As this was happening, Task Force 141 was disavowed by the US Government and NATO, and the members of my father's team were marked as criminals and made wanted.

"It wouldn't be until the end of World War 3 when the truth was revealed: Former Lieutenant General Shepherd was tied with Makarov's action and had Hotel Team murdered to cover his tracks when he realised that he would be found out. With this evidence, the Task Force was reinstated and the names of Hotel Team cleared. For their actions and sacrifice during the war, each member was awarded Distinguished Service Cross or their relevant nation's equivalent, and their service records cleared of any wrongdoings that were placed against them due to misinformation."

She stepped back from the picture of the squad and looked at them longingly, remembering all of the moments she spent with them. "I've known this team for most of my life. They say that the bond between soldiers is stronger than those held between blood-related siblings. I say it's true, but it extends to their families as well. You might think it weird or strange, but those soldiers were my uncles. Their partners were my aunties. And their own children were my cousins. At times it was tough, but we all had each other to fall upon. Plus, I learnt how to do some really cool things from my uncles. Uncle Meat taught me how to speak Portuguese and Spanish, whilst Uncle Roach showed me how much plastic explosive it takes to knock a door off its hinges. Uncles Archer and Toad helped me with my geometry homework as the pair of them used exactly the same math when shooting at long ranges. Uncle Chase tutored me in some basic self-defence, and Uncle Ghost helped me learn how to sneak around without being seen… though my Mom or Dad didn't appreciate that particular lesson." She had to stop a giggle at the memory of playing extreme hide-and-seek with Ghost and the other members of the team whilst on base one day.

She turned to face the class and held her arms behind her back, standing loosely at-ease. "It may seem like a lie or a story, but if you stop and think about, my family helped save the world. Or at least, they helped make sure it didn't get worse. Sure, they may not look like your typical heroes with capes and superpowers, but as my Uncle Scarecrow once said: 'I put on my Superhero uniform every day I go out to fight'."

She clicked to the final slide: a subdued image of the Task Force One-Four-One insignia with all of the unit's collective and individual decorations and awards overlaid it. There were multiple Presidential Unit Citations, Meritorious Unit Citations, Unit Commendations, Medals of Honour, Victoria Crosses, Gallantry Medals, even medals that Holly herself could not identify but recognised as medals for valour and heroism from other nations.

"And that is my family. Any questions?"


	13. Legacy

**Don't you just _love_ random plot ideas that pop into your head at the worst of times.**

 **I listen to music on a random from my phone as I drive to and from work on a daily basis, right. Anyway, on the way home one day Xhibit's 'What It Is' came on and I all I could imagine was the basis of a kickass scene featuring a few of HWC's "Main" characters.**

 **This chapter, as such, is the culmination of a cultivated and hastily-drafted plot that formed in a manner of minutes.**

 ** _Enjoy..._**

* * *

 _"_ _Get down, turn around, show me what you got. You a pow-pow Juggernaut, take it up a notch. Oh my god, wow, take 'em out, let me take a shot…"_ The flashing lights, thudding base, and stifling heat of the club's dance floor as dozens of drunk revellers tried their best to move to the music could be considered a sensory overload to most. For one woman attendee, however, she found this not even close to how intense a firefight could get. This club was barely registering on her radar, yet she found the deafening music annoying as she couldn't focus on the chatter in her earwig.

"What was that Talon?" She had to say loudly into her necklace-microphone, pushing her way through the inebriated crowd to the bar. "I can't hear you over this bloody song."

"I said it looks like Burner is having some fun." The man known as 'Talon' said to her as she reached the bar counter, retrieving a glass of water that he had ordered for her. They turned to look at their friend caught in the middle of a group of women, all of them trying their best to 'show them what it is', as the current song made it all too clear to do. She shook her head and shoved her companion playfully.

"Give the girl a break, man. It's been a while since we've been able to come close to cutting loose like this. Knocker's got the right idea, after all." She gestured to the platinum-blonde haired woman sitting at a secluded table over by the wall, engaged in lip-to-lip combat with an unsuspecting victim.

"I hope she's got protection." Talon remarked dryly, stepping back before his friend could slap him again.

"Of course she is: she's packing a Compact Match under that skirt of hers." This earned a laugh from Talon.

"Christ, Fever, you know that's not what I meant." He chuckled as he sipped from his drink. He was about to continue on when a burst of noise from their earpieces caught their attention.

 _"_ _Okay boys and girls, playtime's over. I want eyes and ears open from this point out. Ducky and Rubber saw our target make his entrance a minute ago."_ The deep voice of their team leader made the two snap to alert, their eyes gravitating to the main entry and exit to the underground club as a dark-suited man walked in with an entourage of guards and girls. _"Fever, Talon; you know the play. Burner and Knocker, make sure you're ready to jump when needed. Talon, Ruby, Jekyll; you boys get ready to embrace your inner bouncer."_

"Got it Apex." Fever spoke calmly into her mic as she straightened up her clothes and mentally prepared herself for the task at hand. She flashed an apologetic smile to Talon, known that he objected to the plan for a multitude of reasons: some professional and some personal. "Don't you worry, I've got my protection as well…" She tapped under her skirt where a small SOG-TAC compact knife was tucked into a garter belt high on her thigh.

"It's not you I'm worried about…" Talon said with a smirk, trying to outwardly conceal his worry. "Go get 'im Fever."

It should go on record that Fever had earned that name for a number of reasons: namely her fiery personality or that she makes her opponents sweat in a firefight. Though tonight, she called upon the third reason for the name. Lightly tanned but clear skin: check. Shoulder-length straight brunette hair with blonde streaks: check. Smouldering bluish-grey eyes: check. Noticable but contained Australian accent: check. And a killer body like that of a surfer: double check.

Fever made her way to the target flaunting all of these assets, and from the get go she could tell that she had landed his attention. She had to inwardly repress a laugh when she was let past his ring of security without any hassle at all: they had obviously been told to 'let the smoking hot lady' past. It was somewhat appropriate, she remarked as she had noted that the song had changed to a trap song with a hook that repeated the phrase 'you can't stop me'. And she fought hard to not cringe at the cocky and leering smirk on his face as she sat down next to him.

"Why hello there, gorgeous…" The older man said as he blatantly checked her body out from head to toe. The low-cut top and short skirt didn't show away too much, but it didn't stop her from feeling violated. "What, may I ask, brings you here?"

"You looked a little thirsty…" She said with a small smile, laying on her accent a little heavier than normal. Fever noted the way his eyes seemed to widen slightly as she spoke. _There's the hook._ "Figured you might like something…"

"A cold drink from a hot lady like yourself? Aren't we quite the contrast tonight." He remarked with a short laugh as he took a sip from the drink she had brought with her. "You're quite the world away from the great 'Land Down Under', you know." She rolled her eyes playfully at the attempted joke and just leaned into his side a little more, allowing him the slightest view down his shirt.

"I don't know about you… but I much prefer being up and over…" Again, he seemed to shudder under her spell. _That's the line._ "Life's more fun that way."

"I can't agree more…" He said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her even closer into him. "You know; I've heard things about Australian women over the years. All these kinds of stories, but I've never had the opportunity to meet one and ask them if it's all true." He sipped his drink and glanced around at the rest of the venue. "So I hope you don't mind me asking a few questions of you."

"Depends on what you ask, but I'm game." Fever shifted a little bit and took a sip from her own drink.

"Well, there are rumours that Aussie girls are ferocious lovers, insatiable in some regards… care to confirm." He asked with a smirk.

"Only if you answer me one question." She matched his smirk with one of her own, leaning closer and closer into him.

"And what might that be?"

"How good's your cardio?" _And there's the sinker._

* * *

 _"_ _Apex, I've got eyes on Fever and the target. Exiting through a rear fire exit into Alley Sierra, they look to be unaccompanied."_

 _"_ _Copy that Duck. Burner?"_

 _"_ _I'm with Ruby and making my way to where Sierra exits onto ASR Bravo."_

 _"_ _Knocker?"_

 _"_ _I've got Jekyll and we're pushing to Sierra's exit onto MSR Delta. Just passed a few Leo's, so we gotta keep this clean and quiet."_

 _"_ _Rog, Talon?"_

 _"_ _I'm on Fever's ass. Just left through the same exit and have eyes on…"_

Fever did her best to not look behind her and confirm what she was hearing in her ear. It didn't take much to get him to leave the club alone; it took all of her effort not to laugh at the look the target gave his guards when they tried to follow him. Speaking of said target; he was starting to get a case of 'Restless Hand Syndrome'. She was starting to get tired of playfully swatting his hands away from places that roaming hands shouldn't be getting near; namely her ass and the hidden blade on her thigh. As much as Fever wanted to, she had to balance her instincts with the feigned interest that she was putting on. Too little resistance and he'd likely get weary. Too much and he'd either lose interest completely and return to the club, or as his record had shown, turn violent and force himself upon her.

"So, my place or yours, babe?" He whispered into her ear, his right hand starting to slip from the small of her back and proceed lower. She stopped him and returned it to where it belonged, and chuckled lightly.

"My place isn't too far away from here, if you don't mind walking."

"I'd walk a thousand miles if it meant ending up at your door." This time she actually laughed, both at how bad he was at trying to woo her and at the blatant reference of a very old song. Regardless, she kept him under her spell.

"As long as you aren't worn out by the time you reach me… it'd be a shame if you were." The man shook his head and slowed down slightly.

"… then why wait?" In a matter of seconds, Fever found herself pressed against the cold brick wall of a building as the target held her hands above her head. "I mean, we'll save our energy this way…" The look in his eyes was disconcerting, but Fever kept a level head and cocked her head to one side.

"Don't make a girl a promise you can't keep." The phrase threw the man off guard, and he was about to question it when the sound of a sidearm being cocked right behind his head made him freeze cold.

"I wouldn't fucking move if I were you, buddy. That is, unless you'd prefer to stain the lady's dress with your brain matter. Choice is yours." Talon had swept up from behind and placed his worn but reliable Sig P226 right against the man's neck. He kept his eyes on the man as he raised his arms behind his head. "You good Fever?"

"Never better, Talon, but you need to work on your arrival one-liner." She said as she pulled a zip-tie from Talon's pocket.

"Says the girl who wanted to quote Cortana as a duress code." He rolled his eyes at the remark, lowering his weapon once the target was secure and on his knees. Fever merely scoffed at him.

"At least I can work her into a conversation without seeming weird."

"Yeah, keep thinking that."

"Fuck you."

"Love you too." Talon remarked as he handed his pistol to the woman before stepping away. "Apex, this is Talon. Target secure and ready for extract."

 _"_ _Copy that Talon. Burner and Knocker are going to rendezvous with you in one mike, Flash is ten out with the van. We'll meet up at point Zulu in thirty."_

"Awesome. See you there."

* * *

Kelly sighed as she sat down on the bench against the side of the van, wasting no time in taking her heels off. Andrea and Kayse did the same across the cabin, whilst Andrew looked on with an amused smile. "I never get why you girls wear them for so long if they're that uncomfortable."

Andrea flipped him off as she glanced at the bound and gagged man sitting against the far end of the van's cabin. "I honestly think he looked better in the darkness of the club. What do you think, Fever?" She asked, looking over to Kelly.

"He's honestly not my type." She said simply, closing her eyes to catch some rest. Andrea glanced to Kayse, and gestured to the woman's messy lipstick.

"Hey, who was the lucky guy Knocker?" Kayse simply winked at her.

"I'm not one to kiss and tell, Burner." Andrea groaned as she was left out of the gossip. She then glanced at Andrew and studied the way he was looking at the resting Kelly beside him. It took her a few minutes before it connected and she nudged him with her foot.

He turned to look at her inquisitively and watched as she gestured to both and him and made a series of motions that took a few minutes to decipher. However, once he understood what she was trying to get across, he simply shook his head and flipped her off.

 _He's totally got a thing for her…_ was Burner's last thought before she drifted into a short nap as they drove to the RV point.

* * *

 **A new future canon of mine: After TF141 was reinstated near the end of WWIII, they found themselves short of numbers to replace the men lost in both the war and through Shepherds deceit. I imagine them opening recruitment to the public but having standards much higher than those of the most prestigious of the Tier One community. Along with those stringent physical and mental requirements, prospective recruits must have two letters of sponsorship from notable persons. Thankfully, both Kelly "Fever" Williams and Andrew "Talon" Chase had from the 'right people' as well as the requirements. And also, since this is the future, it means that (by that point) all positions and jobs in the military are opened to people of any and all genders.**

 **And it's through pure chance that they both are fighting on the same team that their fathers fought in: Hotel Team.**

 **I want to preface this that I may only do the occasional chapter following this particular aspect of my EAU. I aim to stick to around the same time as MW2. That said, if you want to see some future team antics, let me know.**

 **And disclaimer, I had wrote this AFTER playing Infinite Warfare (where the female lead has the same call sign as Kelly). PURE COINCIDENCE, I PROMISE.**

 **Ladies and gentlemen, this is the post WWIII Hotel Team lineup:**

 **First Lieutenant Michael "Apex" Andrews - SEALs - TL  
Warrant Officer Scott "Cub" Lionsdale - RMC - 2iC**

 **Staff Sergeant Kevin "Doc" Walters - PJs - Medic  
Flight Sergeant Barry "Flash" Allens - RAF - Technician**

 **Sergeant Donald "Ducky" Reagan - FORECON - Scout Sniper  
Sergeant Kerry "Rubber" Clarke - FORECON - Spotter**

 **Sergeant Kayse "Knocker" Wilde - 75th Rangers - Breacher  
Corporal Andrew "Talon" Chase - Direct Entry (R) - Grenadier  
Corporal Kelly "Fever" Williams - Direct Entry (R) - Assaulter**

 **Sergeant Andrea "Burner" Bunsen - CSOR - Demolitions  
Corporal James "Ruby" Rose - Direct Entry (S) - Assaulter  
Lance Corporal Jake "Jekyll" Hyde - SASR - Gunner**

 **I'll let you guess why some of the troops are called that way. If you have any guesses, don't be shy to put them in a review.**


End file.
